Teenage Dream: A Fred Weasley Love Story
by purplenightlight95
Summary: Now in her fifth year,Vi is finding it harder to keep her feelings from Fred.Will the events going on at Hogwarts pull these two together, or tear them apart?  Based on GOF No copyright/ plagiarism intended! I don't own anything noticeable in the story!
1. Info

Full Name: Violet Karianne Elizabeth Ashton

Nickname: Vi

Family: Aundrea Ashton (mother)

Friends: Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, most other Gryffindors, and Luna.

Enemies: Draco and all other Slytherines

Pet: Parakeet (he's actually an owl… Fred named him three years earlier :D)

Crush: Fred Weasley

Hobbies: Quidditch (Chaser on the Gryffindor team), making friends, pulling pranks, singing, reading, staring at Fred…

Grades: O's (Outstanding's) and E's (Exceeds Expectation's)

Favorite Teachers: Hagrid, McGonagall, and Dumbledore.

Appearance: Vi is one-quarter Veela, so she is very beautiful, though she doesn't see it. She has dark brown hair (like her mother) and Hazel-Brown eyes. Who she got the color of her eyes from is a mystery. "They aren't mine, and they definitely aren't your fathers," Her mother told her. Vi has very pale skin, but has lots of freckles that make her skin appear slightly tanner than it is. She is rather short for her age (about 5"3') and is average weight.

History: Vi doesn't know too much about her family, being that she only grew up with her mother and all of her grandparents are dead. She knows that her father isn't dead, and wishes that she knew who he was. She loves her mother very much. They are very close and tell each other everything. She has just always felt that there is something missing. When she was eleven and got her letter to Hogwarts, her mother was so proud. She was even more proud when Vi got into Gryffindor, being that it was the house that she was in at school. Her mother was also happy when Vi became good friends with the Weasley twins, being that she had been good friends with their mother, Molly.

Personality: Vi was a very shy girl when she first started off at Hogwarts, but became close friends with the Weasley twins, and started to change. Now, she is a fun-loving girl and also quite the prankster (she learned from the best :D)! She is a very kind person and talks quite a bit when she wants to. She is very smart and love music (both from the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds) She loves to read and loves Muggle musicals.


	2. 1 I've Just Seen A Face

First Chapter! Kings Cross Station: We were finally here, and I was finally going to the place that Mum has been telling me about for the last eleven years. I had gotten my Hogwarts letter a month before and Mum had taken me to Diagon Alley to get my school things a week before the letter came.

I know you ll get in, she said simply when I asked her why we were getting everything so early. You are already such a great young witch, Vi. She gave me one of her smiles that made people stop what they were doing and just stare at her. Everyone says Mum and I are twins, except that her eyes are blue. I never believe them, of course. She is so much prettier than I am.

Now the time had come, I opened the door of the muggle taxi and slammed it rather excitedly. I couldn t wait to get to school! The only thing that had me slightly worried was how I would ever make any friends as I had always been rather shy.

What do they look like again, Mum? I asked smiling at myself. I just wanted to hear her say it again. I knew the answer by heart.

Well, there will be four of them, and they all have red hair. From what Molly has written to me, the two younger boys, the twins, may be pulling some sort of prank. She looked down at me and smiled, because I was mouthing what she was saying as I had heard it so many times

As soon as we walked into the station, I started looking for them. I knew that she was excited to see the Weasley s mother. They had known each other since they were my age, but hadn t seen each other since about a month before I was born.

We had been inside the building for about two minutes when I spotted four gingers in a sea of brown, black, gray, and a few blonde-haired people. I turned to tell Mum that I thought I had spotted them, but when I looked where she had been at a second ago, she was gone. I looked back in the direction of the gingers and saw Mum running at a rather plump woman, who had to be Mrs. Weasley, full force. She nearly knocked her over as they collided and screamed like teenagers. I laughed as I slowly made my way in their direction. As I got closer, I heard bother of them saying things like, It s so great to see you! and How are you!

My hands behind my back and biting my bottom lip, I walked up slowly to Mum and Mrs. Weasley, trying my best to stifle a laugh. I have never even acted like that! Then again, I had never had a best friend either.

Both Mum and Mrs. Weasley turned to me, just beaming. Molly, this is my daughter, Violet, Mum said still smiling.

Mrs. Weasley opened up her arms and said, May I? I nodded shyly. I was quite nervous when it came to meeting new people. Just as I was thinking this, I was pulled into a bone crushing, yet surprisingly friendly, hug. Hello Violet, she said kindly as she stood back to get a better look at me. It made me feel a little bit awkward.

Vi, p-please call me Vi, I stuttered a whisper staring at my feet.

Of course, she smiled at me reassuringly. Well, Vi, Aundrea, she addressed Mum. These are my sons. This is Percy. He is a fourth year and in Gryffindor. A tall boy with short red and curly hair waved at me.

How are you? he asked me, smiling politely.

Fine, I said looking up from my feet and giving him a small smile in return.

Mrs. Weasley also smiled and continued introducing her family. These are the twins Fred and George. She pointed at them as she said their names. They are only a year above you and also in Gryffindor.

The one that Mrs. Weasley called George was really cute! I m not really sure how I could tell them apart, but I could. Maybe it was the amazing smile he gave me when he walked up to me and said, Hi! I m Fred. What?

I-I thought that you w-were George, I stuttered completely humiliating myself. He laughed at the look on my face and I blushed as I shook his hand. I gave a small shy smile as I looked up at him. He was really tall for only being twelve!

No, I m George, the other twin said as he pushed his brother out of the way and took my hand. It s been twelve years and Mum still can t tell us apart. The twins gave their mum a fake glare, which made me giggle.

Sorry boys, Mrs. Weasley said, rolling her eyes at her sons. This made me laugh even harder. I felt someone staring at me from behind and gave a small smile when I saw Fred s eyes on me. He noticed that I caught him, which made him turn more red than his hair. I broke into a grin and turned around. No one had ever starred at me before.

Shall we? Mrs. Weasley asked. We all nodded and followed her and Mum. I tried to search out Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, but stopped when we came to a halt near a wall in between Platforms Nine and Ten.

I looked around extremely confused. What are we doing? I asked no one in particular.

Fred must have heard me, because he leaned down toward me and whispered right in my ear, Watch . HOW DID I KNOW IT WAS FRED?

I did as I was told. Just as I looked up, Percy ran at the wall. I flinched when he was a few inches away. My mouth fell open as he went through the wall. How was this even possible?

Fred leaned against another wall, as did George, and laughed at my reaction. Surprised? they asked in unison sounding amused. I nodded quickly in answer.

That is how you get onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Fred said simply as he smirked at me. I started to feel my whole body shake. There was no way that I was doing that!

Vi? Mum asked turning around and looking back at me. You ready to try it? I shook my head so violently that I thought it might fall off of my neck.

Okay, Mrs. Weasley and I will do it and show you how it s done, but then it s your turn! she said while she pointed her finger at me, but couldn t help but smile as she did it. I nodded, smiling as well.

Mum linked arms with Mrs. Weasley, looked back at me once more, and made sure that no one was looking at us. They then ran (and sort of skipped) straight at the wall. I was amazed when they too, went through it. I gulped. I knew that this meant that it was my turn and briefly contemplated making a run for it. I decided against it, but I was still shaking pretty badly.

Ready? The twins asked in unison each of them on one side of my face. I jumped about five feet in the air and looked down at my feet again. They laughed as if they knew something that I didn t. I looked up at them and caught both of them looking at me. They turned to each other and nodded, grinning.

We didn t want to have to do this, George said grabbing my left arm.

I guess we have no choice though, Fred finished grabbing my right.

I only managed to say, What the- before we were running at the wall.

My feet weren t on the ground and I somehow managed to hang onto the trolley that was holding my luggage. I closed my eyes when my face came about five inches from the wall. I was sure that we were about to crash- Five seconds later, I opened my eyes. Amazingly, I felt no pain and now saw a huge scarlet train in front of me with the word Hogwarts Express written in gold writing on the side.

I stood there open mouthed and could hear George laughing slightly. Here we go again. Another wonderful year at Hogwarts! Right Fred? I couldn t tell if he was being sarcastic, or if he was really excited.

Yeah, was all Fred said in reply. I could feel him staring at me and felt something warm on my right hand. I looked down at it, and saw that his hand had slid into mine. He let go quickly when he noticed that I was staring at our entwined hands. He blushed and I smiled at him.

Thanks, I whispered a little breathily from just having run at a brick wall!

Any time, Fred said still blushing, but smiling.

Maybe making friends at Hogwarts wouldn t be so hard.

A/N: Hey! I'd like to thank my new beta ( .net/u/2701157/ ) for helping me with the editing. We are currently working on this, and this is the first edited chapter. So, yay! Thanks guys :)  
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	3. 2 Waiting for the Weasley

chapter 2 Vi Vi VI! Mum said, shaking me, It s time to wake up if you re going to go with the Weasley s to see the Cup! She was practically singing as she said this. I knew she was jealous she couldn t go, but she had her reasons. She had places to go and people to see . I could tell she was nervous when she said this. To be honest, I was getting a little suspicious of her behavior.

You want to see Fred, don t you? she asked, causing me to blush. Mum, Hermione, and Ginny were the only people who knew just how much I liked Fred. Actually, they were the only people I told. I had a feeling that George knew, though he never made it obvious. I would have; but he is one of my best friends. It would be weird to tell him that I thought I was in love with his brother.

I m up! I yelled, jumping out of my bed, and then falling as I did so. I wasn t the most graceful person in the world.

Mum rolled her eyes, and laughed at me. Get dressed, and come downstairs to eat Oh! And try not to fall down the stairs. With that, she left my room.

Oh ha ha ha! You re hilarious! In case you couldn t tell, I was being sarcastic.

Just then, I was overcome by a ridiculously huge yawn. I turned toward my clock. It was ten-thirty in the morning. Wow. That s sad. I quickly got dressed in my favorite outfit, and brushed out my thick, messy brown hair. I skipped down the stairs, nearly tripping as I did so.

Careful there, Vi. That is exactly what I was trying to prevent! she said as she laughed and looked amused. As she did this, I walked and sat down at the dining room table. She set a plate out in front of me. I looked down at it and smiled. On my plate were two blueberry and raspberry pancakes with whipped cream on top. This was my favorite breakfast in the world! I love my mum!

Yum, I said wolfing down the entire plate in two minutes flat. I may be tiny, but believe me, I m the fastest eater I know. Even faster than Ron. I know that it isn t very lady like, but I m proud of it. I thought that it had something to do with growing up with the Weasley s for the last few years of my life.

Jeez, Vi! Slow down. It s not going anywhere. Even though she was used to this, I could still tell she was amused.

I know, but I m excited! I really was! It s weird spending a lot of time with people for nine months, then not seeing them for two and a half. Sure, we all wrote to each other, but it just wasn t the same.

Well, what are you going to do with yourself for the next forty-five minutes? Mum asked me lifting an eyebrow. Lifting my eyebrows was something that I had always wanted to learn to do. Fred tried to teach me, but I just wasn t good at it.

I ll think of something, I said, smiling as I walked up to my bedroom. I stopped halfway up the stairs, smiling to myself, and then turned around.

Mum? Do you, by any chance, have a date with Sirius Black today? Mum, who had just started drinking a glass of orange juice, choked. I ran down, ready to give my mum the Heimlich, when she let in a heavy breath. I leaned against the wall, crossed my arms, and smiled at her.

Wha-What on earth would give you that idea? she stuttered. I could tell that she was nervous and that I was right.

Mum, you guys talk all the time. We ve spent most of the summer with him. How could I not think that? S

She blushed. She really had been spending a lot of time with Sirius. I didn t have a problem with him. Actually I liked him quite a bit. I ve known him since last year, when we helped him escape from Azkaban. He was nice, and really funny. He tells me storied about the pranks he pulled when he was at Hogwarts. He makes me laugh, and gives me ideas for new pranks.

Mum, on the other hand, has known Sirius for about sixteen years. They were both in The Order of the Phoenix; a secret society that rebelled against Lord Voldemort. She told me she had a crush on him when they first met, but he was taken away to Azkaban before she could do anything about it. She doesn t regret it, though. If I had been with Sirius, I never would have had you, she told me one day. She had her chance now, and I wasn t going to let her blow it.

Mum, if you like Sirius, you should go for it, I said seriously. I know he likes you.

She looked up at me and smiled. Thanks, Vi, she said softly, her smile now turning into a full on grin.

I just want you to be happy Mum, I said smiling back. How are you going to have a date, though? He isn t going to be able to come here is he?

I must have looked worried, because she laughed at me. Same as always; it s still not safe for him to come over. She blushed a little. The only way for any of us to speak to him is through the fire. It s weird, but hey, it works.

I ll be in my room, I whispered and walked up the stairs once more. I am also proud to say, that I didn t trip!

My room was covered in purple including my walls, my carpet, and my bedspread. I know that it s sad that my name is Violet and my favorite color is, well, violet.

I walked over and sat on my bed, making myself comfortable. I turned to my side to reach for the book I left lying on my bedside table. I love to read. I mean really love to read. When I get sick of dealing with life, it s what I do to escape the real world. I was reading one of my favorite Muggle novels, The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton. I don t know what it was that drew me to this book. Maybe it was the fact that my favorite character, Ponyboy, didn t have a father either. The difference is his died and I just don t know mine. It made me feel better about myself in some weird, far-out way.

I was just to the part where Pony was reciting Robert Frost s Nothing Gold Can Stay, when there was a knock on my bedroom door.

Come in, I said not taking my eyes up from the book.

The Outsiders again? When are you going to give up reading that Muggle rubbish, Vi? I looked up, because this was a voice that I wasn t expecting to hear until tonight. Looking down at me was the most handsome face that I had ever seen. It was the face of Fred Weasley.

No way! I said, wrapping my arms around his neck as he pulled me into a bear hug. We stood there for about thirty seconds before he whispered something in my ear.

Hi ,Vi, He said kissing my cheek and making me blush profusely. He stood back holding my hands, and looked at me.

My, my, my, he smiled taking a good look at me, You haven t changed a bit have you? I rolled my eyes.

Well, what did you expect; it s only been two and a half months. Was I supposed to get fat, or something? I smiled and he returned my smile. His was about one thousand times more amazing than mine.

Well, with the way you eat I hit him in the stomach, only making him smile more. He started to tickle me, and I began laughing uncontrollably. Just then, Ginny came bursting into my room.

VI! HOW ARE YOU? she asked, running at me full speed. I ran to meet her. This, apparently, was a bad idea, because we ended up on the floor, with Fred laughing at us. I couldn t stop laughing either.

I think I might have cracked a couple ribs. You know the usual, I smiled and so did she. She then gave me a look that said, I m sorry for walking in on the moment that you were just having with my brother . I giggled, gave her an, It s okay, look, got up, and helped her up as well.

Come on, guys! We must get going! I heard Mrs. Weasley shout from downstairs. I grabbed my bags, and we walked out of my room. Ginny in front, then me, and Fred right behind me (possibly staring) we ran down the stairs.

Bye Mum! I said and flung myself at her. Everyone in the room started laughing at me.

I ll see you over the Christmas holidays. I love you, she smiled down at me, as she tried and failing to smooth down my hair.

See you, I whispered.

Okay, let s go if we want to get your school things today, kids. Everyone else will be meeting us there. She pulled me into an unexpected hug. Hi, Vi. It s nice to see you again, dear, Mrs. Weasley smiled at me.

It s nice to see you too, Mrs. Weasley, I said returning the smile.

Um, Mum. We need to go remember, Fred seemed anxious about something, though I couldn t tell what.

Yes, dear.

With that, I waved one last goodbye to my mum. I moved to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder. Diagon Alley, I said loudly and clearly. I learned from Harry a couple years ago what not pronunciating could do. I threw the powder to the ground and felt myself being swished away to another place.

I landed in The Leaky Cauldron, but we agreed to leave the building as soon as got go to Diagon Alley as there were some freaky people that who visited there. I walked out and took a few more steps before bumping into someone. When I got up, I gasped. Somebody was standing right in front of my glaring, but looking delighted at the same time. That somebody happened to be my greatest enemy.

Draco Malfoy.  
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	4. 3 A Suprise from Fred

No. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening today. Today was going to be perfect. I looked up in to Malfoy's ice-cold blue eyes. "Hello Draco," I whispered. There was just no disguising the hate that filled my voice. Sure, I knew Malfoy had a crush on me. Everyone knew that. He never really kept his feelings a secret. Last year, he had tried to kiss me, and Hermione punched him in the face. That was mostly why Fred and George hated him. I hated him because he was so rude to my friends and hated everyone one of them. Why he didn't hate me, I would never know…

He knew that I was part Veela, but that wasn't what made a person beautiful in my book. What made someone beautiful was their personality and the way that they treat people. In my book, Fred was the most beautiful person in the world…

"Well, well, well," Malfoy sneered at me. "What are _you_ doing here by yourself, Ashton? I'm surprised that the Weasley's aren't here to protect you." As he said this he advanced toward me, smiling evilly. "Aren't you happy to see me?" he whispered in my ear as if we were the only two in Diagon Alley. I could feel people staring at me, and I stood there frozen. I wasn't scared exactly; I just didn't know what to do. A few seconds after he said this, he seemed to notice something behind me. He stepped back quickly and his smile faltered. I turned around.

"We _are_ here, Malfoy. May I ask what _you're_ doing here?" Fred spat, clenching his teeth, and putting his arm around me. I blushed slightly. No, Vi! Now is not the time. You have bigger things to deal with at the moment. I turned back to Malfoy, and crossed my arms.

"What is your problem?" I heard Ron ask him. Ron's here! That means George is probably here, too! I really wanted to turn around and give them both hugs, but sadly, that would have to wait until later. Right now it was time to try and get rid of Malfoy.

"Oh, hello Weasley. I was just having some fun with this beautiful girl here." He was now facing me. "You know, you would be even more beautiful if you hung out with different people. No one will ever take you seriously if you continue to hang out with the Weasley's, Potter, and that mudblood, Granger.

As soon as he said this, Ginny and I turned around. We both knew that we would have to hold the boys back. We were right. I took on Fred and George, while Ginny took care of Ron. They all looked like they wanted to strangle Malfoy, so I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"Let's just go, we have more important things to do than sit here and listen to this." I glared at Malfoy, and spoke once more. "As sad as it is, we'll see you at school, Malfoy." I turned my head, grabbed both Fred and George by the arm (Ginny took Ron's arm) and walked past Draco, not looking back.

"What was that all about?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking confused and coming up to where Fred, George, and I were keeping a steady pace. "Was Mr. Malfoy, uh, bothering you again, Vi?" Mrs. Weasley knew that Malfoy had an infatuation with me. I had told my mum about it once, and since I started going back to Hogwarts, she started talking to Mrs. Weasley a lot more. Unfortunately, that didn't always work out in my favor.

"Um, yes Mrs. Weasley. Everything is okay now, though." I looked at the boys; all three of them were still fuming. I looked at Fred, and he looked back at me. The look that he gave me clearly said, "Are you sure that you're okay?" I nodded and smiled, squeezing his arm. He gave me a small smile back.

"I can't believe he did that to you," Ron looked like he wanted to punch something. He was breathing through his nose heavily. I patted him on the shoulder, trying my best to be as reassuring as possible.

"I'm fine, Ron. Really," I smiled at him and this seemed to calm him down a bit. To change the subject, I turned to Mrs. Weasley. "So, where are we going today?" I asked.

"Well, I thought that first we should go to Gringotts. I'm assuming that you need to withdraw some money from your vault, Dear?" I nodded, and she smiled. "Then I thought that we could go to Madam Malkin's-"

At this point I had stopped paying attention. I felt bad about it, but I had a lot on my mind. I didn't understand why Malfoy liked me so much. He's always saying I'm beautiful but, coming from him, it means nothing. Why couldn't Fred tell me I'm beautiful? Wait, I thought. Whenever Malfoy calls me beautiful, when Fred is around, Fred gets mad, and I have to hold him back. Did that mean he liked me as more than just a friend? Did guy friends care if other guys hit on their girl friends? Did Fred know that I like him? Did all of the Weasley boys like me? This day has certainly given me a lot to think about already…

Everyone else must have noticed that I had drifted off, because the next thing I heard was, "Hey! Earth to Vi! Are you still with us?" George asked, waving his hands in front of my face, and laughing at me. "By the way, do Ron and I get a hug?" He held out his arms.

"Of course you do!" I replied, snapping out of my own little world. I jumped into his arms; everyone else started laughing at us. When I was done with George, I tackled Ron and made him blush.

"Hey, Vi. He said quietly.

"Hey." I said, smiling and waving my hand.

"Boy, are we glad to see you." George spoke up. "Fred wouldn't stop talking about how much he missed you, and how excited he was to see you. That's why he went with Mum and Ginny to meet you." Everyone nodded in agreement, even Mrs. Weasley. This made me laugh. Fred hit his brothers on the back of the head, and I turned to him.

I tried really hard to raise my eyebrow, but failed. It was his turn to laugh at me.

"Seriously, Vi. By now you should know that you can't do the eyebrow thing. I guess you're just not awesome enough." He grinned at me and laughed. I hit him in the stomach.

"That is not true!" I started laughing then. Everyone else just stared at us. Fine. He won this time by changing the subject. Later though, I would make him talk…

We were inside Flourish and Blotts, buying our school books for the year, when Ginny had finally cornered me alone. She smiled at me, looking like she was about to explode.

"Yes, Ginny?" I asked her, I was amused.

"You and Fred I going to have an official relationship this year; I can feel it!" She beamed. She said this a little loud, so I put my hand over her mouth.

"Stop being so loud, Child!" I whisper-shouted at her.

I removed my hand from her mouth and she said, "I know that you like him. And don't call me Child!" She said wagging her finger and giving me a mischievous grin. I smiled back. She hated it when I called her 'Child'.

"Yes, and if you continue saying it out loud, the whole store is going to know," Just as I said this, an elderly wizard looked at us; he was staring. I waved at him, and he walked away widening his eyes and mouthing, "Wow." I know that that was pretty rude, but I was a little aggravated today. There was only one person on Earth who could make me truly happy after having to deal with Malfoy…

"Am I interrupting something?" Fred asked us coming up and grinning. I grinned back.

"Nope. I was actually just getting ready to check out." I showed him all of the books I had to buy. There were ten of them.

"Blimey!" He shouted, taking seven of them. "I don't remember having that many books last year!"

"I'm taking more classed than you did," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah… Anyway, I'm glad you're done. I wanted to show you something." I smiled and Ginny squealed from behind us.

"What's up with you, Gin?" Fred asked her, giving her a questioning look. Ginny was fishing for an answer, but I already had one. I was good at thinking on my feet.

"She's just happy to get rid of us. She wants to ask your Mum for advice to get Harry to notice her. The less people the better, you know." Fred nodded, trying not to laugh or come up with a comment, and Ginny glared at me. I glared right back. She deserved it for almost blowing my cover.

"So, do you want help checking out?" Fred asked giving me the cutest smile that I had ever seen.

"Only if you're offering," I said, shrugging.

He grinned and we walked toward the check-out. There was no one in line, which I was grateful for. I wanted to see what Fred had to show me!

After I had paid and checked out, Fred held out his hand to me. I took it gladly. "May I ask where we're going?" I said, looking up at him.

"You may, but you should know that I'm not going to answer you." He grinned down at me, and I giggled.

We walked over to the door, and I looked back at Ginny. She smiled, and I smiled back. I followed Fred outside.

We walked a few more blocks, talking about completely random stuff, when we came upon an empty building on the corner of one of the streets. I opened my mouth in awe. This place was huge!

I turned to Fred, he was grinning at me, making me blush. "Where are we?" I asked quietly.

Fred looked back at the building, still grinning. He held out his hands. "This is the future home of Weasley Wizard Wheezes," he answered, rather proud.

The twins had been talking about starting a joke shop since I met them. I helped them come up with the name 'Weasley Wizard Wheezes two years ago. The shop was their dream, though their mum didn't approve.

"Wow." I said, looking up at the building.

"I wanted you to be the first to see it. You're the only one that George and I can trust not to tell anybody." I smiled. I felt so loved.

"Well, thank you," I said looking back at the store. I didn't want to be rude, but I was dying to ask. "Can we go in?" I pleaded, making Fred laugh.

"Of course." He took my hand again, and we walked. "Alohamora," He whispered at the door, and, making sure no one was watching us, we snuck in.

It was even bigger on the inside. I opened my mouth in awe again, letting go of Fred's hand, and gesturing to the giant room. "This place is huge! How are you going to afford it?" I asked. I knew that the Weasley's had always had money problems. I always wished that I could help, but mum and I really didn't have much money, either.

"Well, we don't really know that yet. We'll find a way," he said patting my shoulder. "Look, Vi, there was another reason that I wanted to bring you here before everyone else." He came closer to me, grabbing me around the waist. My breath caught.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I didn't want to ruin what could possibly be the greatest moment of my life, but I had to make sure that I wasn't dreaming.

He smiled that ridiculously cute smile again. "Well, let's just say that it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time."

With that, he pulled me closer to him, and leaned his face down to mine.


	5. 4 Well, That Was Awkward

Fred's POV

"What are you doing?" Vi asked me, looking at me. It looked like she was… hopeful. I hoped that she was. This was not only something that I wanted to do; it was something I had to do.

My face broke into a dorky grin before I could stop it. I felt like an idiot, but continued, "Well, let's just say that it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time." With that, I pulled her even closer to me around the waist, and leaned down even closer to her.

I knew that she must have felt the same way, because she started meeting me halfway, by standing on her tip-toes. She put her hands around my neck, and we both breathed heavily from anticipation. Our lips were about a centimeter apart, when-

BAM!

We jumped apart and looked up like two deer caught in headlights. George came bounding in. He was the only person who knew where we were. He had no idea that I planned on kissing Vi, so I shouldn't be mad at him. But, to be completely honest, I felt like punching him.

"Yes, George?" I asked, crossing my arms and looking over at Vi. She was biting her bottom lip, and held her arms behind her back. She was so adorable! Why did George have to come in here now? Why couldn't he have waited another five minutes or so? I looked back at George. He had his mouth wide open in shock, and was staring between Vi and me. I raised an eyebrow at him; he closed his mouth and no one said anything for about ten seconds. George finally spoke up.

"Uh, M-Mum is looking for you. We're getting ready to go back home…" He drifted off and began to stare between the two of us again.

Vi was the next to speak up. "Okay, I'm coming," she said, smiling at George. She and George started walking toward the door. I stood there frozen, I couldn't move until-

"You coming, Fred?" Vi said turning around, and grinning at me. This was the only thing that got me to speak or move.

"Yeah, yeah. I-I'm coming." I mumbled, shuffling toward the door. Why was this happening? I had been so confident a minute ago. So sure of what I wanted and where things were going. Now, I really wasn't sure of anything. We made our way out of the future shop, and out to Diagon Alley.

Vi's POV

Two words; day ruined.

I was still trying to figure out what had happened.

I had my hands wrapped around Fred's neck, trying to make things a little easier for him. We were breathing really heavily. I was, because I was amazed that I wasn't the only one who wanted this. I felt like I was going to explode! Our lips were about to touch when-

BAM!

Fred and I jumped apart, and I put my hands behind my back, and began biting my lip. It's something that I do when I'm nervous. We just stared at George, our eyes getting wide.

"Yes, George?" Fred asked (well, kind of snapped) crossing his arms, and looking at me. He was so _hot_! Even when he was angry! Why did George have to walk in right now? I looked back at George, and so did Fred. Fred raised an eyebrow at his brother, and George shut his mouth, as it had been wide open in shock. Finally, George spoke up.

"Uh, M-Mum is looking for you. We're getting ready to go back home…" he mumbled, staring between Fred and me.

"Okay, I'm coming," I said, forcing a smile on my face. I was attempting to act like nothing happened, though, I was _extremely_ humiliated. I began walking toward the door, until I realized that George was the only one following me. I turned back around. "Fred, you coming?" I asked him, grinning to make the moment a little less awkward.

"Yeah, yeah. I-I'm coming." He muttered, as he slowly followed George and me out of the door of the (future) shop.

We walked out onto the sidewalk, and walked about a block, none of us saying anything, when we saw Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley. Ginny gives me a look that says, "What happened?" I reply with a look that says, "I'll tell you later." She nods, and Mrs. Weasley begins to talk.

"Are we all ready to go?" she asks, everyone nods, and we head back to the fireplace in The Leaky Cauldron.

Ron is the first to go, followed by Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, George, Fred, and then me. Maybe fate was the reason that Fred and I were the last two to go, but let me just tell you, it was really awkward. Neither of us knew what to say. We stood there for about twenty seconds before Fred spoke.

"So… would you like me to go first?" He asked, finally looking up into my eyes. His green eyes were beautiful… "Vi, are you okay?"

Oh no; I was staring off into space! "Um, sure. Yeah, you go." I smiled, pointing at him, and he grinned.

"'Kay," he said, giving a breath that was filled with relief. Well, at least things were a tad less awkward now…

He stepped into the fire, said, "The Burrow", threw the powder, and was off.

I sighed. This is why I thought that getting into a relationship with Fred would be a mistake. I had always had a fear that if something went wrong, we would be forced out of our friendship. I felt like crying out of fear that this would happen. Instead, I held my head as high as I could in this sort of situation. I went to the fireplace, said, "The Burrow" as clearly as I could with this situation, and ten seconds later, I was standing in the fireplace of my second home.

The Burrow was my second favorite place in the world, next to Hogwarts. It was so nice to just come here, and unwind. I had loved being in the country since I was a little girl. Mum and I had even lived in the country when I was little. Maybe four or five. I had loved it so much. This place reminded me of my childhood, and Fred. It was one of the happiest places that I could imagine.

As soon as I walked out of the fireplace, Ginny grabbed my arm. She started dragging me up the stairs. As I looked up, I saw Fred laughing at me. I gave him a look that said "You are going to have to tell George, Ron and Harry!" He glared at me, and shook his head. I giggled.

Ginny threw me in her room, and locked the door. "I'm going to be honest with you, Gin; I'm a little frightened right now." I looked at her. I was actually quite amused.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" she screamed at me. I don't think that she could've contained herself even if she wanted to. She started jumping up and down, and waving her hands in the air. I covered her mouth, before she could say anything else.

"Seriously, are you trying to let the whole world know that I'm in love with your brother?" I asked her once she had finally stopped jumping up and down.

She smiled once I let her mouth go. "Maybe," she said simply. "But, seriously, what happened?" she asked. She was now whispering, though she was still as intense as before. We both lied down sideways on her bed. I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath.

"Um, Fred tried to kiss me…" Ginny looked at me in complete horror.

"What do you mean he _tried_ to kiss you?" She asked covering her hand over her mouth to show how surprised she was when she was done talking.

"Well, it's not like I didn't _want_ him to. George walked in before we could do anything. Believe me, I didn't want to stop him…" I smiled at the memory, and then kind of frowned at the part where George walked in.

"Oh." She smiled, but was quiet; thinking for about a minute before she turned to me and said, "What are you going to do?" she asked. This was something that I didn't have the answer to.

"I have no idea," I said, sitting up on the bed. I ruffled my hair, and she sat up as well.

She sighed and said, "We'll think of something." She patted me on the back. This is why Ginny was one of my best friends. She was so clever and loyal; she had never let me down. It also helped that she was related to the boy that I loved. She knew as much about him as I did, and this came in handy.

"I know we will… Just don't tell anyone about this. We can tell Hermione when she gets here, but that's it, okay?" She raised an eyebrow at me. Was I the only one who couldn't do that?

"Have I ever told such a big secret?" she asked me, and I looked back at her. I think she was forgetting something.

"What about an hour ago when you almost told everyone in Flourish and Blotts that your brother and I were going to have an 'official relationship this year'?" I said, doing a pretty sad imitation of Ginny. She laughed at me.

For the next four hours, I hung out with Ginny. We played one-on-one Quidditch. This worked out, because we were both chasers, so we just pinned hula-hoops to trees (since we aren't allowed to use magic outside of school), and shot quaffles through the hoops that the other was protecting. It doesn't sound very fun, but it was actually really fun.

We went to the pond, and just talked. We talked about the twins, Harry, and what we both hoped that school would hold for us this year. Of course, the most that we both wanted was for Harry and Fred to notice us, so we pretty much just talked about boys.

The last thing we did was one of my favorite 'Burrow' activities. We cleaned the garden of gnomes. I had first done this the summer after my first year, with Fred and George. We had laughed so much that day. I still have a picture in my room from that day. I'm holding a very disgruntled looking gnome and laughing. Fred is behind me leaning his head on my shoulder and grinning at the camera. George is in the background throwing another gnome over the fence. I smiled thinking about this as Ginny and I walked toward the house.

As we walked into the Burrow, I looked up and saw everyone crowding around a…something. Ginny and I went into the living room where everyone was, to get a closer look. As people started to step back, I noticed that this something had bright green eyes, and jet black hair.

"Ginny, Vi!" It said running at us as it saw us.

"HARRY!" Ginny and I squealed, running to meet him halfway.


	6. 5 I Didn't Want To Hurt You

Ginny got to hug Harry first. She had obviously wanted to make a point in beating me, so I let her. I knew that she liked him… a lot. In fact, I think that everyone _but_ Harry knew that. He would figure it out eventually.

As soon as Ginny was out of my way, I jumped at Harry. I saw Fred out of my peripheral vision. He winced a little, and then glared at Harry. He must have been a little (or a lot) jealous. Did he think I fancied Harry? _How could he think that I fancied Harry? Sure I love the boy, but only in a brother-sister sort of way. NOOOOO! YUCK!_ I smiled at Fred to try and show him how I felt, but he just ignored me and stormed out of the room, and up the stairs to the bedroom that he shared with George.

Of course of love Harry… I was really worried about him. I knew that he was really worried about Sirius, and he knew that I had an easier way of contacting him. We talked a lot over the summer about Sirius. I would give Harry all the info I could about how I thought that he was doing, or if there was something that Sirius wasn't telling Harry, I tried to help him out with that to. I'm very good at telling how people are feeling.

Right now, I knew that I was feeling happy and relieved to see Harry, but also sad and a little hurt, because now Fred thinks that I fancy Harry…

"Okay, okay! You've all said hello, now it's time to say goodnight. You've all got a big day tomorrow," Mrs. Weasley shouted to the lot of us. I looked down at the watch that Fred had gotten me (with his allowance that he had saved up for four months) for my birthday when I was thirteen. It was already nine o' clock. Where had the time gone?

We all climbed the stairs up to the rooms that we were staying in. I was staying with Ginny. I waved a sad goodnight to everyone else as I followed Ginny into her room. Before I got there, however, George caught my eye, and gave me a sad nod that said "Everything is going to be alright." I nodded back, before Ginny dragged me into the room.

"_What _on earth was all _that_ about?" she asked me. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I think that your brother was jealous of the fact that I was hugging Harry, as crazy as that sounds," I whispered, trying to be as quiet as possible as I changed into my pajamas… What? We're both girls!

"Are you kidding me? He's such a stupid git! Everyone knows that you like him! He even knows, he just refuses to admit it!" She was whisper-shouting all of this to my relief. "He's going to ruin this…" she said as she got into bed and shut off the light.

"Not if I can help it," I whispered back, before I was overcome by sleep.

Fred's POV

Let me put this as simply as possible: I wanted to kill Harry Potter.

I was still trying to control my anger and figure out what had just happened. I don't even know why I was so angry to begin with. It's not like Vi and Harry liked each other, right? I just knew that I wanted to be the one to hold Vi in my arms. I was in love with her, and I think she liked me back, but did that give me the right to get mad every time that she hugs someone other than me. I was thinking about all of this, when my twin came in the room looking livid.

"What _was_ that?" He looked like he wanted to kill me. To be honest, deep down, I didn't blame him. "What do you think gives you the _right_ to do that to her? She would _never_ hurt you on purpose and you _know_ that. You know that she loves you! How could you hurt her? I just passed her in the hall, and she looked like she was about ready to start _crying_!" George looked like he wanted to punch me in the face, I didn't blame him, so I didn't defend myself; I only said what I felt needed to be said.

"I know," I said simply. I was the one who wanted to cry now. "I completely overreacted. I guess that I knew that from the beginning. I really don't know what else to say, other than I can't believe what I just did. I'm a fool," I looked up at my brother, as I was sitting on my bed, and he was standing in front of his. I knew that he wasn't going to forgive me that quickly.

"Well, look at who finally woke up,' He said, still giving me a look of irritation and slight anger.

"I will make it up to her…_somehow_," I whispered. I never took my eyes from George's, so that he knew that I was being sincere.

"I know," he replied finally (sort of) smiling at me. "After all the stupid stuff that you've done over the years, the girl still loves you. Now, _that_ is something real." I grinned at him.

"Yeah, let's just hope I didn't ruin it," I said, turning out the lights, laying down, and facing the wall. Hopefully her love was as real as mine. _That's the only way that she's not going want you dead tomorrow. _This was my last thought as I fell asleep…

Vi's POV

"Vi, Mrs. Weasley told me to get you up. We have to leave in an hour." I recognized that voice. I slowly opened my eyes to see Hermione grinning down at me.

"'MIONE!" I jumped up and hugged her; we both started laughing, and went to wake up Ginny.

"Wait," I whispered, holding Hermione back and putting a finger to my lip. I looked at a book that was on a shelf above Ginny's bed, and smiled. Perfect opportunity. I whispered "Wingardium Leviosa," and sent the book hovering above the nightstand beside Ginny's bed. I smiled at Hermione, and let go of the spell. The book came crashing down with a loud thud, and Ginny fell off of her bed. She came up, ready to kill me. I just laughed at her expression. I turned to Hermione; she was laughing as well.

"What was that for?" She screamed; she still looked frightened and slightly murderous.

"I was just trying to wake you up," I said in the most innocent voice possible. She glared at me.

"Seriously though guys, we have an hour to get ready. We need to hurry," Hermione prodded. "I'm going downstairs to eat." Just as Hermione was about to grab the door handle, Ginny grabbed her arm.

"No you're not. Vi has something that she needs to tell you after she gets dressed and takes a shower; it's important." I glared at Ginny; she smiled back.

"What are you waiting for? You said we could tell her when she got here. Well, she's here. Go get clean," She swatted me toward the door. I grabbed my bag, and headed toward the bathroom.

Just as I got to the door, Fred opened the door to his bedroom, which was right next to the bathroom. We stared at each other for a few seconds. Neither of us really knew what to say, so he walked downstairs, and I walked into the bathroom.

I took a quick shower, got dressed into a green and white outfit (Irish, baby!) and put my hair up in a French braid.

(See outfit here .com/cgi/set?id=37073799)

I walked back into Ginny's room (well, was dragged) and shut the door quickly behind me.

"Okay. Now tell her," Ginny ordered me, pointing at Hermione; she was trying not to jump up and down.

"I almost kissed Fred," I sighed, walking over and sitting on the cot that was my bed. I looked over at Hermione and saw that she had her mouth covered, and had a smile underneath her hand.

"Are you serious?" she asked, now removing her hand and grinning at me.

"No, I'm Vi," They both gave me weird looks… "Sirius Black, guys! I thought that I was the least smart out of all of us, maybe I'm wrong." They were now fake glaring at me. "Just a joke… anyway, now Fred thinks that I like Harry, or something stupid like that, and things are really awkward.

"Wait. Why- how could he think that you like _Harry_?" She pulled her eyebrows together in puzzlement.

"I hugged the boy when he got here. I was so worried about him… and I know that he's been worried about Sirius. We talked a lot over the summer. I just missed him. I still don't understand how Fred could think that! Everyone knows that I'm in love with him…" They both grinned at me. "Oh, stop! Everyone already knew that! Let's just go eat," I said, walking toward the door. They both followed my lead.

We all walked over to the table and smiled. Mrs. Weasley had made bacon (every ones favorite breakfast meat), and hash browns (every ones favorite breakfast potato). I love this woman!

Ginny sat across from Harry, and Hermione sat across from Ron. Of course, by fate, this only left the spot across from Fred open. I sat down, and tried to avoid his eyes. I didn't want to, but I felt that he probably didn't want to look at me. I had unknowingly caused him pain… this sucks!

Fred's POV

I walked out of my room, and saw Vi starting to open the bathroom door which, of course, was next to mine and George's bedroom. We looked at each other for about ten seconds until, not knowing what to say, I looked down at my feet and went downstairs for breakfast. I sighed as I heard Vi close the bathroom door quietly. Great. I ruined it. She went past being mad at me, and just being sad. To be honest, I would rather have her mad at me. It's easier that way, because then I know how bad I had hurt her, and had more of an idea of how to make it up to her. She was hard to decipher when she was sad.

I sat down at the table, with Harry to my left, and George to my right. I think that he had mostly forgiven me, now we were at least halfheartedly joking with each other.

I slowly ate my food, resting my head on my cheek, when the girls walked in. I looked right up at Vi, but she was trying to avoid my eyes. I didn't care; I just kept looking at her, trying to will her to look at me. She never did… She was forced to sit down across from me, though. _Better than nothing…_, I thought and sighed.

"Okay kids, let's go! We have a World Cup to attend!" Dad shouted happily, getting up from the table. Vi walked right past me. I could tell that she was trying to hold back tears. _Yep, I've ruined it!_ This sucks!

A/N: Will update ASAP! My schedule has been ridiculous!


	7. 6 World Cup

We were walking on the trail not far from the Weasley's house. It was taking forever! We had to meet the Diggory's there, and then we were going to the portkey (whatever that was) that would take us to the World Cup! I had heard of Cedric Diggory, though I had never met him. The only things that I really knew about him were that he is that he's two years older than me, his house is Hufflepuff, and that he is really handsome.

I was breathing heavily, as was everyone except Mr. Weasley. He must have noticed though, because he suddenly said, "Not much farther kids, not much farther," he grinned like a child getting ready to go to the carnival. Sometimes I swear Mr. Weasley was more of a child than an adult. It made me happy.

After about ten more minutes of walking, we ended up meeting the elder Diggory, Amos. I believe he was Cedric's father. Mr. Weasley smiled, Mr. Diggory said, "We've been waiting for you for ages, Arthur!"

We walked closer and Mr. Weasley said, "Sorry Amos. Some of us had a sleepy start." He glanced at Ron and Harry as he said this, which made me smile.

Out of nowhere, a boy, who I guessed was Cedric, dropped down from a tree right in front of my face. I screamed and jumped back, making everyone laugh at me. Even Fred smiled a bit. Cedric smiled at me. "Sorry," he said grinning and trying not to laugh; Wow! His teeth were _really_ white!

I gave a small smile. "Oh i-it's okay," I replied, kind of laughing as well. We stared at each other for about three seconds, when Mr. Weasley spoke up.

"Okay kids, we need to go or we'll miss our portkey." He said this in an awkward way, I looked up and noticed that everyone was looking at Cedric and I. Fred didn't look as mad as he did when I hugged Harry, but he didn't look happy…

Ginny, who was by my side, and Hermione, who was on my other side, each took one of my arms in theirs and we followed everyone else. Ginny and Hermione looked a little stunned. _It's probably because he talked to _me… ME! I thought. I smiled a little at their envy, but then felt enormously guilty, because I loved Fred. _Well, it won't happen again._ I told myself.

We soon came upon a nasty looking boot that looked as if it were at least forty years old.

"What's with the manky old boot?" Harry asked, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"That's not just any manky old boot, mate-"George said.

"That there is a portkey," Fred finished.

I zoned out for a moment, I wish I wouldn't have.

"Vi! Grab on!" Hermione, shouted at me.

I looked to where everyone was. I noticed that everyone had a finger on the boot. I ran in between Hermione and Fred, and put a finger on the boot. The thing looked like it smelled horrible! Of course I couldn't really tell. With Fred next to me, all I could smell was him; the smell of the air after a storm mixed with the scent of burnt marshmallows. My absolute favorite smell in the-

I lost my train of thought as I was pulled into what felt like a tornado. It was the most sickening thing that I have ever been involved in. It was even worse than the time that I helped Fred and George prank Snape with a bucket full of slug dung that we took from his storage closet.

Before I had the chance to make the blow to my landing a little more bearable, I fell to the ground. I third a loud thud, but much louder than that was the sickening crack that I heard coming from my ankle.

"Ow!" I yelled. Everyone (including Fred!) ran over to me in a second.

"Vi, what's wrong?" Harry asked, just as Mr. Weasley asked what happened. He, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric were just landing on the ground when they too, came running over to me.

"I must have landed wrong, I think I broke my ankle," I said wincing as Mr. Weasley came up and examined it. Even the slight pressure hurt like nothing I had ever felt before.

"It's broken," He confirmed, a slight grimace on his face. "We won't find any potions here that can cure it either. Does anyone know of a binding spell to mend a broken ankle?" Mr. Weasley asked the group. No one nodded, not even Hermione. I sighed while Mr. Weasley contemplated what we should do. He was the next to sigh. "Molly is going to kill me if I don't take you back to the house…" He looked a little worried, and my mouth fell open.

"No! Please, please, please let me stay Mr. Weasley. I'll come up with a story, so she won't know. I'm really good at making up stories; ask Fred and George, they can back me up." At this, everyone (including Fred!) laughed.

Mr. Weasley still looked a little worried; I put on my puppy dog face… "Fine, Vi! But it has to be something believable!" I smiled the biggest smile I could conjure considering I had just broken my ankle. The puppy dog face works every time!

"Thank you so, so, so much, Mr. Weasley!" I gave him an air hug since I couldn't get up, he returned it and laughed.

Hermione and Ginny helped me up, each taking an arm, (I love my friends!) and we walked toward a huge field. I gasped in wonder.

There must have been a couple thousand tents, and this field must be at least six square miles! All you could see were the colors red, black, green, and white until the ground hit the horizon. It was amazing; that's all there was to it. It suddenly didn't even matter that I was limping. I could already tell that this was going to be one of the greatest days of my life.

I just wish that I could share it with Fred…

Fred's POV

I walked in silence toward the tents staring at Vi. She had broken her ankle, so she was limping, but she wasn't wincing or complaining at all. She was staring at the amazing sights in front of her in wonder. I smiled. That's Vi. She has never let pain get in the way of having a good time.

Why did I have to ruin this?

I frowned a little as we walked into a tent. Even though it was the most amazing tent I had ever seen (even nicer than the Burrow!) I couldn't help but continue to frown. This was going to be the worst day I'd had in a long time.

All I wanted to do was share it with Vi…

We were getting ready to go up and watch the Quidditch game. I couldn't help but be a little exited; I had been waiting to see this game for ages… I looked over at Vi. She was in front of me talking to Ginny and Hermione. I was walking beside George (obviously) while Harry was on my other side. I decided that it was completely stupid to be mad at him… All of a sudden, Vi looked back at me. She blushed for being caught trying to stare at me, and I did the same. We grinned at each other, and looked away.

"Dad, how far up are we?," Ron whined, huffing out a large breath. Before Dad could answer, a cold and malicious voice came from behind us

"Well, let me put it this way: If it rains, you'll be the first to know," Lucius Malfoy answered, holding in a laugh.

"We're in the minister's box. We were invited by the minister himself, " Draco said looking Vi up and down. "Vi, _you_ are welcome to join us if you'd-"

"NO! That little blood traitor is _not_ welcome in _our_ box!" At this, I lost it. I lunged at Lucius Malfoy, but George held me back. Things may not be completely right between us, but I will protect Vi until the day I die. I realized that I was making a scene (people began staring), and knew that I was probably making a mistake, so I gave up.

"You aren't worth it," I whispered through my teeth. At this, Lucius laughed.

"Why on earth would I let that nasty little girl sit with _us_? She will_ never_ be one of us until she learns what is right." He just stared at me as if he couldn't fathom how anyone could believe anything other than what he believed. I was about to make a smart remark when Vi, saving my life and saving me from killing this man, began to speak.

"Who says I want to sit will you?" She asked grabbing my arm, I tried not to blush, but it just came out.

Lucius just looked at us and grabbing Draco's arm, stalked off. Draco's father hit him hard on the back of the head, and told him not to boast. Even though I hated the little git more than anyone at Hogwarts (even Snape), I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. Anyone with a father like his deserves to be a little angry. Not as angry as Malfoy is, but still.

"Come on kids, let's go," Dad said, looking pretty peeved at the Malfoy's. I know that Dad hated seeing anyone picked on by Draco, because he had been pushed around by Lucius most of his life.

We entered our box and, surprisingly, had a pretty good view of the game. George and I were betting that the Bulgarians would find the snitch, but that the Irish would win the game. I was hoping this outcome was good… Just as I was thinking this, I saw someone sit next to me out of the corner of my eye.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" Vi asked, staring at me intently. Her eyes were so beautiful!

"Of course," I said grinning at her. I fought the urge to be sarcastic; I didn't want her to dislike me any more than she did at the moment. So, I stared at her instead. What I really wanted to do was apologize… Well, here goes nothing…

To my surprise, we both said "I'm sorry" at the same time. We both stared at each other for about a second, and then cracked up laughing. After laughing so hard that I felt my side would burst, I grabbed her and pulled her into a bear hug.

"I'm so sorry Vi. You have no idea…" I said, letting go, and staring into her eyes.

She sighed. I know that she wanted to apologize even though it wasn't her fault. She is very good at blaming herself for things. "Let's just enjoy being here and watching the game, okay?" She asked, knowing very well that I wasn't about to let her blame herself for any of this.

I nodded just as the game was getting ready to start. When the Irish came in, I got up and cheered. I then looked back down at Vi's seat and remembered that she had broken her ankle, so she couldn't stand. I leaned down toward her.

"Do you want me to hold you?" She looked slightly alarmed. "S-so you can see the game, I mean."

"Oh," She said, smiling her beautiful smile. "Sure." She held her arms out to me and I picked her up in one sweeping motion. She was so light!

"Are you made of air?" I asked. She gave me a questioning look. "You weigh nothing! The way you eat, you should be heavy!" She smacked me, hard in the chest, making my heart race. "Ow!" I said, rubbing my chest and giving her a fake glare.

"Get him, Vi!" George said grinning at us. I glared at him, while Vi gave him a grin.

I heard her mumble "Yeah, maybe someday…" and grinned. Maybe this wouldn't be so awkward after all.

The Irish had won, of course (I was now a rich man!) Practically everyone in our group thought they would. The only one who was truly disappointed was Ron.

"He's like a bird the way he rides the wind." We were back at the tent now, and Ron was trying to defend his love for another man, while the rest of us just grinned at him, amused. Ginny was the only one to make a comment to this.

"You're in love Ron!" She said, going up to him and patting his back.

This didn't seem to faze him at all. "He's not just an athlete; he's an artist!" I looked out in space, trying to picture Krum. I grinned, nodded at George, and we broke into song.

"Viktor, I love you-"

"Viktor, I do!"

At this point we heard a scream; Dad went out of the tent to check on it. We didn't care. Vi and Harry joined in, while Ginny and Hermione started cracking up, laughing.

"WHEN WE'RE APART MY HEART BEATS ONLY FOR YOU!" We sang, and began laughing again. Ron looked offended. I looked over at Vi, and she grinned back. I couldn't be happier; things between Vi and I were starting to become normal again. Maybe better than normal.

Suddenly, Dad came back into the tent, looking alarmed. I tried my best to lighten the mood, but I sensed that something was wrong.

"Looks like the Irish have got their pride on!" I shouted over all the screaming going on outside.

"It's not the Irish," He shouted to the lot of us, looking even more alarmed than before. "We have to leave; now!" he said. We all stood up.

A/N: Currently working on the next chapter:D


	8. 7 Interruptions

This was the best day of my life. There had just been a scream of delight and Fred, George, Harry and I were singing to Ron

"WHEN WE'RE APART MY HEART BEATS ONLY FOR YOU!" We screamed this at the top of our lungs, then all burst out in laughter. This is the happiest I've been all day. Things between Fred and I finally seemed to be getting back to normal. Things felt even better than normal. I looked over at him, and he grinned back. We just looked at each other until-

Mr. Weasley burst into the tent, looking quite frightened. Fred was the first to speak; I could tell that he just wanted to lighten the mood a little. More screams were now coming from outside the tent.

"Looks like the Irish have got their pride on!" Fred shouted over the increasing screams.

"It's not the Irish," Mr. Weasley said, looking more and more alarmed by the second. We have to leave; now!"

I jumped up quickly, and noticed that everyone else did the same. I quickly realized that this was a bad idea; I had completely forgotten about my ankle. Everyone looked scared out of their minds. I looked at Fred; he had a mix of fear, sadness, and anger in his eyes.

"George; take Ginny and run. Fred, you've got Vi." Fred and I both nodded, and he scooped me up in his arms. Before we could hear anything else that Mr. Weasley had to say, we were out of the tent, and following people into a forest.

It was just Fred and I as we ran; the rest of the family had disappeared in the terror and chaos. He ran as fast as he could, looking for somewhere that was at least partially safe.

We ran for about fifteen minutes, until we came across a hollowed out tree. Fred ran to the farthest wall on the inside of the tree. He sat down on the ground breathing hard; I was sitting on his lap. All of a sudden, tears started pouring out of my eyes. I'm not sure what did it; I think it was the stress and hurt that Fred and I fighting had put on me, mixed with what had just happened. I didn't even really know what _had_ happened; I just knew that I was more scared than I have ever been in my life.

Fred pulled me close into his chest, and hugged me tighter than he ever had. He was brushing my hair with his hands. I just let the tears fall freely from my eyes, and he let me soak his white t-shirt through with my tears.

"Shhhh," he said soothingly, still brushing my hair with his gentle fingers. "I know that it doesn't seem like it, but things will get better; I promise," He pulled me back and looked at me. We stared at each other for about twenty seconds, saying nothing. I put my hands on his chest, and looked into his beautiful green eyes that had always reminded me of an Evergreen tree. Despite what was going on I wanted comfort more than anything. I specifically wanted that comfort to come from Fred's lips. He must have been thinking the same thing, because before I knew what was happening, we were leaning into each other. We were both breathing heavily- he from having just ran with me in his arms for fifteen minutes, and me from anticipation at what was about to happen- and I could feel the heat radiating from his lips even before-

His lips crashed down on mine; all of a sudden I was on fire. In the midst of everything that I felt, I couldn't control what I was doing. I wanted to make the moment last. I was glad when I found that Fred felt the same.

He pushed me gently against the wall, and deepened the kiss. I put my arms around his neck as he gently moved his to my waist pulling me as close to him as possible. He asked for entrance into my mouth, which I willingly gave. I moaned and felt Fred smile into our kiss. I never wanted the moment to end…

Sadly, we soon ran out of breath, and pulled apart. We looked into each other's eyes for about thirty seconds until he pulled me into the best hug of my life. He rubbed my back, and I entwined my hands in his hair. Suddenly his lips moved close to my ear.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that. I'm sorry about everything." I looked into his eyes. They were simply shining with the joy that filled this perfect moment in the midst of chaos.

I smiled at him and said, "Ditto." This made us both laughed. He kissed me gently for about ten more seconds, but it involved just as much passion as our first kiss.

He looked at me nervously. "Vi?"

"Yes?" I whispered. He had stopped talking. I think it was just his nerves.

"I think that I-"

All of a sudden, we heard the biggest scream that we had heard all night. As much as I hated it, we pulled apart and ran out of our little hideaway. We saw other people looking up at the sky and looked up as well. Fred and I both gasped.

Through a clearing in between the trees, was a green moving image of the dark mark. It was bright and big in the night sky; there was no way to avoid it. Silent tears fell from my eyes and I felt Fred pull me into his arms. I put my face in his chest and, for the second time tonight, I let the tears fall, staining his shirt once again.

"Everything is going to be alright," Fred whispered in my ear. I suddenly felt as I had back in the tree. As long as I was with Fred, everything would always be alright.

Fred's POV

Our lips met; it was the most amazing moment I had ever felt. Despite the fact that I'm a wizard, I've never felt anything more magical (cheesy but true). I certainly didn't want to moment to stop, and I was ninety-nine percent sure that she felt the same. We both did the best we could to make time stand still for as long as possible.

I pushed her (as gently as I could in this passionate moment) up against the wall of the hollowed out tree. I slid my tongue against her bottom lip, hoping that she would let me in. She did! I couldn't have been happier that she felt the same! She moaned, making me smile into the kiss. The moment felt never ending and perfect…

We soon ran out of breath, though, and were forced to pull apart for breath. We just stared at each other for about thirty seconds until I couldn't take it any longer. I pulled her into a huge, protective, and loving hug. I rubbed her back gently, and she slid her hands in my hair. I then went to say something that simply needed to be said.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that. I'm sorry about everything." She looked in to my eyes- practically into my soul- and I did the same to her. What I saw was all I ever wanted to see from her; love.

"Ditto," she whispered. We both laughed softly. I kissed her; this kiss was a lot slower and gentler than before, yet somehow still filled with the same amount of passion.

"Vi?" I stammered; I think that she could tell how nervous I was. I couldn't continue talking even though this was something that I just _had_ to say… it was hard to put my love into words.

"Yes?" she prompted. This gave me enough courage to say what I wanted. _I'm going to do it! _I thought.

"I think that I-"

I was suddenly cut off by the loudest screams of the night. I inwardly groaned as we ran out of the tree.

_Love you._ I thought.

We both looked up into the sky at the same second and gasped.

There in the sky, lay nothing other than a giant, green dark mark.

That was his mark; You-Know-Who's.

I looked over at Vi and was startled to see that she was crying again. Today just wasn't a good day, crying wise, for her. I pulled her into my arms and let her tears fall, once again, into my chest.

"Everything is going to be alright," I whispered in her ear. I suddenly realized how true my statement was; when I was with Vi, nothing could possibly go wrong…

Vi's POV

I woke up to someone shaking me. "Come on, Vi! You have to get dressed and packed! We're going to Hogwarts today!" Ginny was shaking me awake with Hermione dancing behind her. They were both dressed, of course. I looked at the clock. It blinked 8:30PM. I groaned. I didn't get very much sleep. Fred and I haven't talked about our kiss since the night of the World Cup, and I had been up all night trying to think of a way to bring it up when it was just the two of us… _At least he's talking to you_ _now._ I thought as I hopped out of bed.

"Fine," I sighed, knowing that I would never win this battle. I grabbed my clothes and headed for the bathroom. Sadly, I didn't run into Fred this time. _Just my luck._ I thought, as I shut and locked the bathroom door. I got dressed in the best back- to – school outfit I could find in my truck, and ran down the stairs, nearly tripping on the last step. I was extremely surprised and glad when a strong pair of arms caught me.

I looked up to see Fred smiling down at me. He was so tall! "Thanks." I said, grinning back at him.

"Anytime," he replied looking back at me. We stared at each other for a moment, and then George walked in. He almost looked as awkward as the day he caught us kissing in the shop.

"Breakfast is ready. Just thought you should know," he mumbled, walking quickly out of the room. Fred and I grinned and followed him, walking hand in hand. No, we weren't an official couple. I think that we were both waiting for the other to make a move. I know I was at least. I was hoping to get to talk to him on the train…

We ate the food that Mrs. Weasley had prepared quickly. We only had an hour until we were supposed to arrive at Kings Cross Station and everyone (but Hermione) still needed to pack. Typical.

An hour later, we were just walked into the station. We somehow managed to make it right on time as always.

We quickly made our way over to platform nine and ten. Everyone went in the same order as usual; Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Ron, George, Mrs. Weasley, and lastly, Fred and I. Holding hands as we ran to the platform had become a tradition for Fred and I since my first time getting on to the platform… Of course, Fred and I have been holding hands a lot lately, so it wasn't as awkward as it had been every other year.

He grabbed my hand, and we smiled at each other as we ran toward the platform, still somehow managing to have a hold on our trollies. We probably should have checked to make sure no one was looking, but we honestly couldn't have cared less.

We were still staring at each other when we heard the train whistle. We both looked up to see the scarlet train that was the Hogwarts Express loom in front of us. I reluctantly let go of his hand, so that I had a better hold on my trolley.

"I wasn't done yet," he teased, grinning down at me.

"Neither was I. Don't worry, that wasn't the last time." I reassured him, as we went to find his (and pretty much my) family. We did this in a matter of seconds, because everyone was still waiting for us.

"Come on, kids! You're going to be late!" Mrs. Weasley beckoned to us, smiling. I think she was happy that her son and I were becoming a couple. I think that this was all she ever wanted. She smiled as we hurried over, and gave me a hug.

"Thank you, Vi." She said this so that only I could hear it. "You are a wonderful person, and I'm glad that you and my son have finally realized that you're perfect for each other." What she said made me blush and smile.

"No problem." I said, grinning down at her. She was even shorter than me!_ That _was amazing.

"Are you forgetting that I'm your son?" Fred asked, suddenly coming to our side. He had found Lee and he and George had been talking to him.

"Of course not Freddy, come here." She grabbed him by the face and kissed him on both cheeks. He blushed and I laughed. That's what he gets for coming over here.

Fred suddenly grabbed my hand, and we walked toward the train. He was being quite the gentleman and carrying both of our trunks. "Bye, Mrs. Weasley!" I shouted over my shoulder, and saw that she was waving and smiling at Fred and me.

"Well, your mum seems to be enjoying this more than we are." I said to Fred. We both laughed.

Surprisingly, we found a compartment to ourselves which I was very grateful for. I really wanted to talk to Fred about our kiss and about becoming an official couple. We sat down next to each other. I put my head on his shoulder, and he put his head on top of mine. I was about to ask him how he felt, when he spoke.

"Vi, that kiss we had the other night was amazing. It was one of the best moments of my life."

I really didn't know what to say, so I just said the first thing that popped into my head.

"Ditto."

He laughed and kissed the top of my head, forcing a blush out of me.

"I love it when you say that." After he said this, he turned me so that I was looking into those beautiful green eyes. I couldn't help but smile.

"Vi, will you be my-"

Just then, the last person that I ever wanted to see (besides Malfoy) came bursting into our compartment. "FREDDY! How was your summer? I missed you so much!" The girl pushed me out of the way and started hugging Fred.

The girl hugging him was the one that l that I liked less than any other girl at Hogwarts.

Angelina Johnson.


	9. 8 Baby, Just Say Yes

Fred's POV

Angelina had a strangle hold around my neck. I didn't know what to do or say. This girl has been obsessed with me since first year. Once, back in second year, she even tried giving me a box of chocolates that had love potions in each piece of candy. I guess she thought I was stupid enough to not know what a love potion was; I've worked with them quite a bit. I'm one of the best pranksters in the school; what did she expect? I did my best to make it obvious that I don't like her, but the girl just couldn't take a hint. I looked over to where Angelina had pushed Vi. My heart sunk deep into my chest, and I immediately wished that I hadn't

Vi looked as though she was almost in tears; she knew what I had been to say, I could tell. Vi had always been as nice to Angelina as possible, considering how rude Angelina was to her. She had always interrupted us in the middle of conversations, or she would bump Vi in the hall for no reason causing Vi to drop her books, then say, "Oops! I'm so sorry Hun. I would help you pick that up, but I'm going to be late for class! Bye!"

"Earth to Fred!" Angelina shouted in my ear. I did my best not to glare at her. "How was your summer? You have no idea how much I've missed you! We have so much to talk about! Hey, Vi. Do you mind? I kind of had to ask Fred something…" Angelina said without taking her eyes off of me. It was a tad creepy the way she was staring at me; there was no love. Only obsession.

Vi stood up, arms stiff at her sides. She put on a brave face as she said. "Yeah. Yeah, I do mind. I actually had to talk to Fred myself." She gave Angelina a death glare, which Angelina returned; a slight smirk on her face. All I could think was, _Wow. Go, Vi! _Angelina looked a little flustered and taken by surprise, but that didn't stop her from talking.

"Oh, no problem. Freddy and I will have plenty of time to talk. We have all of our classes together, after all. See ya later Fred." She touched the bottom of my chin with her pointer finger; I did my best not to shudder. She glared once more at Vi, giving her a look that said "Watch yourself", and left our compartment, trying not to slam the door.

Vi sat down, crossing her arms and huffing in anger. I couldn't help but smile she was so cute when she got angry. She sat down next to me once more; I put my arm around her trying to be comforting. She crossed her arms and said,

"I don't understand why she hates me so much," She looked ready to kill, but I could tell she was trying to calm her breathing. She rested her head on my shoulder, causing my heart to race, and sending shivers down my spine. This gave me just enough courage to do what I had wanted to do for nearly five years.

"I think I might know why," I whispered, resting my head on top of hers. She turned her head to face me as I said this, looking deep into my eyes; I did the same.

"Why?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, her eyebrows pulled together. She seemed completely at ease now, a slow smile forming on her lips. It was nice to know that I had that effect on her.

"Because I'm not in love with her; I don't even like her, actually. I-I love you, Vi." Great, I stuttered. Smooth move there, Fred.

Next thing I knew, she had grabbed the back of my neck. She pulled me closer to her, and pushed her lips up against mine.

Vi's POV

"I don't understand why she hates me so much," I said, trying to hold the tears in while at the same time trying not to go hunt down Angelina and strangle her. I put my head on Fred's shoulder which calmed my breathing quite a bit. I've been leaning on Fred for almost five years and it never failed to send an electric shock though my body every time we touched. I was now at ease. Fred rested his head on top of mine and began to speak.

"I think I might know why," he whispered. I was startled by this and turned to face him.

"Why?" I asked, tilting my head to the side; I could feel my eyebrows pull together. A small smile had formed on my face. I hoped that he was going to say what I was too afraid to. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Because I'm not in love with her; I don't even like her, actually. I-I love you, Vi! At this point I was thinking two things. 1) _OMIGOD! THIS IS AMAZING! _, and 2) _He's so adorable when he stutters!_

I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed the back of his neck and pushed my lips against him. It was even better than last time we had kissed; safer. He pulled me as close to him as possible, and wrapped his arms protectively around my waist. Our lips molded together perfectly; it was truly amazing. We snogged for a good eight minutes before we had to pull apart for breath. That was when I realized something amazing: no one had interrupted us.

I grinned and so did he. We put our foreheads together, just looking at one another. Staring into each other's eyes; into each other's souls. Finally, I spoke.

"I love you too." If it were possible, his grin got even bigger, until it looked like his face would split in half. Then, he whispered.

"You are the most beautiful person in the world. I should probably say this before someone else does. I'm lucky someone hasn't said it yet…" He stopped talking for a few seconds, but I could tell that he was determined to go on. "Will you be mine?" He looked at me hopefully.

My mouth dropped open in shock. I didn't even notice until he started laughing quietly. I shut my mouth before I whispered the most truthful thing I had ever had in my life. "Fred, I always was yours; from the beginning." With that I kissed him. This one was gentler than the previous one. As if we had all the time in the world…

The compartment door slammed open to reveal a flustered looking Hermione and an ecstatic looking Ginny. Both of them had their mouths open, until Fred raised an eyebrow; they shut them quickly.

"Uh, w-we just came t-to tell Vi that w-we should probably get cha-changed. We're nearly at the s-station." Hermione stuttered, blushing so hard it looked as though she had sunburn.

"'Kay, I'm coming." I unwrapped myself from Fred. He pouted slightly (so cute!) and frowned. I smiled.

"I'll be back," I said as I kissed him on the nose, and walked out of the compartment with Hermione and Ginny.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" Ginny shouted as soon as I shut the compartment door. The old woman with the candy trolley looked up in alarm as I clasped my hand over Ginny's mouth.

"She has that disease where you just yell out random things… Very sad..." I said. The candy lady looked sympathetic as she continued to walk up the train. Ginny glared at me.

"Will you wait until we get to the changing compartment, please?" I whisper- shouted as we walked to the other side of the train. Both of them nodded, but I could tell that I was going to be bombarded as soon as we got there.

As soon as the compartment door was shut, Ginny backed me up against the wall, looking half crazed. "WHAT. HAPPENED. WITH. YOU. AND. FRED?" She asked this all very slowly, as if I couldn't comprehend what she was saying to me.

"Um, I kissed him," I replied, I thought making them get like this was funny…

"Vi, we aren't stupid. We know more than that happened. It's pretty obvious by the way he was looking at you when you had to come with us." Hermione spoke for the first time since she saw Fred and I together.

I sighed, but smiled at the same time. "Well… HE TOLD ME HE LOVED ME, AND I KISSED HIM, AND THEN I TOLD HIM I LOVED HIM, AND WE KISSED AGAIN… then you guys walked in!" I said this all in one breathe. They just looked at me, both amazed and excited.

They both started jumping up and down and screaming things like "Yes!", "I'm so happy!", and my personal favorite "I KNEW HE HAD IT IN HIM!"

I laughed as I was attacked by a group hug. This was going to be a good day…

After we got changed, I headed back to the compartment that Fred and I were sharing. Ginny and Hermione just followed; I think that they wanted to see the both of us together; to know that this wasn't just some stupid prank that we decided to play on them. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I got there and found George sitting across from his brother, grinning. I smiled as I walked in, Ginny and Hermione trailing behind me.

"There she is! My future sister-in-law!" George stood up, giving me the famous Weasley bear hug. I blushed and hit him on the arm and tried to laugh, but couldn't. Fred helped me out here.

"George, let go of her! She needs oxygen to live. That sounds about right. I finally ask her to be my girlfriend, and you try to choke her!" I smiled, walking over to Fred and kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said, grinning. This was followed by many "AWWWS!" and a camera clicking. I glared at Ginny.

"Hey, I've been waiting for this to happen just as long as anyone else! I've always wanted a sister!" She sounded a little offended. I blushed, but laughed, as did everyone else.

Just then the compartment door opened. Yes, again. This time Harry and Ron came bounding in. They looked between Fred and me.

"Are you two-?"

"YES!" Ginny, George, and Hermione squealed (yes, George squealed) with happiness.

Ron and Harry smiled as they sat down; Harry next to me, and Ron next to Hermione.

For the remainder of the train ride, we ate tons of Chocolate Frogs, and played a really intense game of Exploding Snap, until we finally arrived at Hogsmeade Station.

When we got to the carriages, I sat on Fred's lap, so that there was room enough for all of us to ride together. I blushed as red as Fred's hair when Hermione and Ginny made kissy noises and George said "Well, isn't that just the most precious thing you've ever seen?" He did a surprisingly good imitation of a woman, which I was forced to laugh at. Fred kissed me on the cheek, making me blush even more. He seemed to love the attention; that was one thing that we didn't have in common. I hate attention, other than when I'm pranking, but that is a different matter.

After about ten more minutes of riding, the carriage came to a stop. I looked up from the group and saw a big gray castle looming in front of us.

Fred and I were the last to get out of the carriage and, thankfully, we were left apart from our friends. I smiled as Fred gave me his hand to help me out of the carriage. I was Cinderella, and he was my Prince Charming escorting me to the ball. It was simply perfect!

We walked hand in hand (getting lots of stares and points as we went) up to the front doors of the castle. I grinned as we walked through to the entrance hall.

"What?" Fred asked, looking down at me and smiling at my joy.

"We're home," I replied simply, wrapping my arms around his neck, standing on my tip-toes, and kissing him. I suddenly didn't care if everyone looked. I was with Fred. I was happy. Nothing could go wrong as long as I had him.

"Home," he agreed as we let go of each other, walking into the Great Hall.

A/N: Going to hopefully be working on the next chapter over the weekend. I'm having some health problems so I'm going to apologize in advance if it takes a little longer to get the next chapter up. Thank for reading! :D


	10. 9 Protests

Fred and I sat down in the Great Hall still holding hands. I even got a few more death glares from Angelina. To be honest, I really didn't care what anyone thought. I just wanted to be with Fred. And to be completely honest, I was happy to cause Angelina that much distress over Fred. I felt good about all of this, and about myself.

That was until I caught Draco Malfoy's eye. I couldn't rub his stare off for some reason.

I knew that the boy had a crush on me since first year. I'm not stupid. I can tell when a boy likes me (aside from Fred).

This time, though, seemed different. He didn't just look jealous or angry. He looked… hurt. Of course, I didn't like Draco (in any way, but especially the way that he liked me). I love Fred and would never do anything to hurt him; ever.

I pretended to listen to my friends conversations while I thought of this. Suddenly, I felt Fred tap my shoulder and nod his head toward the teachers table where people were getting sorted.

The sorting ceremony went well. There were ten new Gryffindors who were all very excited to be with us. I clapped along with everyone else, but couldn't get rid of that nagging feeling that Draco was watching me. All I could think was, _There is absolutely no way I would ever consider him._

After the sorting was finished, and we were all stuffed so full with food that we thought we wouldn't be hungry for a week, Dumbledore stood up the give the beginning of the year speech.

To everyone's immense surprise, Dumbledore announce that Hogwarts would be hosting the legendary Triwizard Tournament. Unless you were a Muggleborn, you knew what the Triwizard Tournament was. It had been forever since there had even been one, let alone one at Hogwarts. There were excited cheers from all over the room. I looked next to me at Fred and George. They couldn't have been more identical than they were at that moment. They were both grinning and high fiving each other and people around the table. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Dumbledore. Of course they would want to enter. I would have expected nothing less.

I looked up not to Dumbledore, but to a face that I didn't recognize. Dumbledore announced him as Barty Crouch. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gave each other knowing looks. I wondered what is going on, but soon realized that I hadn't been paying attention.

"…For this reason, no person under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to enter the tournament." Suddenly, there were many complaints from all four of the student tables. The loudest were the voices of Fred and George.

"THAT'S RUBBISH!" They said in unison. This was when Dumbledore silenced everyone. Nobody moved except to turn their heads toward the headmaster.

Before Dumbledore could talk again though, a large burst of lighting came from the fake sky above us. Several people began to scream; I jumped slightly, and Fred grabbed onto my shoulder, squeezing it. The lightning had ceased, and I was comforted by Fred. That was until I noticed the person who had stopped the thunder. His name was Mad-Eye Moody. Mr. Weasley had spoken of him quite a bit, and there was no way to duplicate someone with such a distinctive face. It was very badly scarred (As he was an auror, I wasn't very surprised of this.) and he had one leg, the other was some sort of metal. The biggest reason I knew that it was him was because he had only one real eye. The other was of a different color, and was robotic. It moved in all directions, taking in the whole room in a matter of less than a second. I could tell who his eye stayed on the longest though. Harry. He went up to Dumbledore; they hugged, and started whispering. The whole room was quiet until Dumbledore said-

"Children, this is your new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher. This is Professor Moody." He gestured to Mad-Eye. "Now, as for the tournament; these rules are for your safety. They have been set and will not, under any circumstances, be changed. Prefects will show the first years the way to their common rooms. As you have all had a long journey, I would say that it is time for bed." With that, we all left to go relax.

"I still think it's pretty ridiculous. It should be our choice if we want to enter," Fred was saying to George, Lee, and I as we all lounged around the fire in the Gryffindor common room two hours later. Everyone else had gone to bed. I would have too, but for some reason I was wide awake; I had been ever since getting here. It always gave me a new energy to be home.

George nodded at his brother and said, "We'll find a way. Don't you worry about that. At least we still have a couple of months to work our magic." He rubbed his hands together as the rest of us grinned.

"You guys are idiots." I shook my head, and Fred grinned.

"That's why you love me though."

"True." I said smiling, and kissing him full on the mouth. George and Lee cringed.

"Okay. I'm going to bed. I really don't want to see this." George said, looking disgusted as he walked toward the boys dorm, Lee at his feet.

"Night, boys!" I yelled. They ignored me. I turned to Fred and we burst out laughing. It was almost as if nothing had changed between us, except I got to kiss and hold hands with the sweetest, funniest, nicest guy in the school.

After we had wiped the tears out of our eyes from laughing so hard, Fred and I were quiet for a while. I rested me head on his chest, and he put his arm around my shoulder, occasionally kissing my hair. We just stared into the fire. I smiled as I thought about all the envious stares I had gotten from girls since arriving at Hogwarts. For once I enjoyed being the center of attention. As long as it involved Fred, I didn't care.

I suddenly frowned as I thought of the looks that I had gotten from Malfoy. Why did he care so much? Did he understand how much I loathed him?

Fred must have noticed my distress, because the next thing I knew, Fred whispered in my ear, "Vi, are you okay?" I nodded, but he didn't buy it. He knew me too well.

"No you're not," he whispered shaking his head, moving me to his lap, and staring at me intently. "You can tell me anything. I can keep a secret."

I wanted to say, "Yeah right.", but decided that being sarcastic wasn't a very good way to go. So instead I said, "No, really. I'm fine I promise. I'm just tired. I think I'm just gonna go to bed." I tried to unwrap myself from him, but he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back. I giggled.

"You're not getting away that easily," he whispered in my ear. I turned to face him and found that there was an evil grin forming on his face.

"And what did you have in mind, Mr. Weasley?" I asked, a small smile forming on my face as well.

"I think you know." He looked at me intently and I smiled.

"Oh, right. How could I forget?" I kissed him on the cheek, and started to walk toward the stairs when he ran after me. I giggled as he caught me around the waist as I was at the foot of the stairs. He turned me around to face him and his lips crashed down on mine.

I enjoyed the feel of our lips on each other. They moved in sync, and it just felt so good! We must have stood there for about fifteen minutes, just kissing. Finally, I remembered that I was going to bed.

"I love you." I whispered, smiling up at him.

"Love you too." He replied, kissing me once more before allowing me to go to my room, him doing the same.

Because there were only two other fifth year Gryffindor girls, Hermione and Ginny were permitted to stay in the fifth year dorm with me. Thankfully, they were asleep. I found it kind of odd that Ginny enjoyed discussing things between her brother and me. I mean, why on earth did she want to know about Fred and I snogging?

I crawled into bed and sighed with happiness. Despite everything that was going on with Malfoy, I was extremely happy. At that moment, I vowed not to let that situation bug me…

With that, I fell into a peaceful and dreamless sleep.

The next morning I woke up to both Ginny and Hermione shaking me awake.

"Come on, Vi! We have classes starting today, and I don't want to be late!" Ginny shouted in my ear, causing me to fall off of the bed.

They laughed until I said, "Oh you guys are just excited to see the hot new Defense teacher, Professor Moody." They glared at me and it was now my turn to laugh.

Suddenly, I thought of something. "Hey! I kinda dozed off last night while Dumbledore was giving his speech. Did he happen to say when Quidditch tryouts are?" They both looked at each other. _Oh no. I hate that look._ I thought. I held my breath, trying to think of what they could possibly say. I tried to smile but failed, so I just sat on my bed with my arms crossed.

"Uh, the-they aren't having Quidditch tryouts th-this year, Vi." Hermione was looking down at her feet when she said this. She knew when I was about to explode.

"WHAT? YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! THEY CAN'T DO THAT! CAN THEY?" It's a good thing that the other girls in our dorm weren't in here now. They probably would have reported me to McGonagall and Dumbledore.

"I guess they can, because they have," Ginny said, looking slightly upset but definitely not as mad as I was. She really wanted to try out for the team that year.

"Well, as much as it sucks, I guess we better get ready for class." I sighed, getting off of the bed and going to my trunk to get clothes. I thought of something, and smiled.

"I am a genius!" I grabbed my clothes, and headed for the bathroom that was connected to our dorm.

When I came out, both Hermione and Ginny gasped, looking at me like I was crazy.

"What do you think you're doing? You have to where your robes! It's required!" Hermione smiled.

I looked down at myself and smiled. I was decked out in full Gryffindor colors, robes nowhere in sight (See outfit here ) "Chill, if it's a problem, someone will tell me to out my robes on at breakfast," I said, patting Hermione on the shoulder. "Besides, Dumbledore's cool. He doesn't have a problem with a little silent protest. I smiled to myself again. I really was a genius.

I went down to the common room, and found that Fred was there waiting for me. I ran to his arms, he laughed.

"You look very beautiful today," he whispered in my ear. I smiled up at him

"Thanks." I said, kissing him on the lips.

"Can I ask why you aren't wearing robes?" he asked, looking me up and down.

"You just did," I laughed. "It's a silent protest. No Quidditch this year," I pouted.

He smiled and I laughed. "Well, Dumbledore will make sure you don't get in trouble."

We started walking toward the Great Hall for breakfast when I realized something "Hey, where's George?" I asked.

"Uh, he said that he wanted to give us some privacy." I could see Fred was blushing, and I began to as well. I tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

"What? Does he think we're animals? We aren't just going to make out on the way to breakfast," I said, looking up at Fred. _That woke him up._ He raised an eyebrow.

"We won't? AWWW!" I looked up at him and grinned at him; he returned my smile.

"Well, I suppose… I could give you a preview of what that would be like." I stopped, pulling him down to my height by the collar. My lips crashed down on his, and I could feel him grinning into the kiss. I did the same until I felt someone staring at us. I looked up to see Draco.

"Yes?" I asked trying (and failing) to raise an eyebrow at him. He just scowled and walked away.

"That was annoying," Fred said, scowling as well, but not looking the least bit embarrassed. I smiled.

"I don't get it." Fred looked at me like I was crazy.

"It's obvious that he fancies you."

"Everyone keeps saying that… I just don't get it." Fred smiled, hugging me to him.

"Everyone sane, straight guy in this school fancies you. But, you're mine. Don't worry, I'll protect you." He hugged me closer to him still (if that was possible).

"'Kay, Bodyguard." I playfully elbowed him, and he smiled as we got to the table.

The only thing I listened to at breakfast was Fred and George discussing their plans to make an aging potion in order to get their names into the Goblet for the tournament. They asked me if I would help them, I said yes. I knew it wouldn't work, but they had puppy dog faces like you would believe.

My first class was Defense, and I really didn't have it with any of my friends. I was just happy that I hadn't gotten in trouble for my outfit yet. Fred (again, by himself) walked me to class. Such a gentleman!

The bell rang, and the first thing we talked about was how Mad-Eye saw the Dark Arts. He wanted us to be prepared for "what is ahead", as he put it.

We then talked about the unforgivable curses for the rest of the class.

It was scary. I had heard of all of them before, but I never really thought of how powerful they were until that moment.

After showing us how they all worked (On an insect, thank heavens!), he said, "Now, we all know that there is someone, in this school, that has survived the killing curse." _Harry_ "What not all of us know, is that there is also someone who, as a baby, survived the Cruciatus Curse, better than even any adult ever had before her. She is sitting here in this room. We all looked around the room, but I felt one person's eyes (or should I say, eye) on me I turned to face Mad-Eye.

_He isn't staring at _me._ Is he_? was all I could think.

A/N: I was recently at Barnes and Noble and saw a CD for some Broadway show with Daniel Radcliff on the cover. I think the show was called How To Succeed in Business Without Trying (or something along those lines…). Anyway, does anyone know what this show is about? I love plays and stuff, so if anyone has any info about it, let me know. Also, please comment on the story… I want more input, constructive criticism is welcome :D


	11. 10 Not While I'm Around

I met Fred after class. He was waiting for me outside the door (so sweet!). I was slightly in a state of shock as I took his hand and we walked to my next (and least favorite class); Potions. I wasn't sure, but I was almost positive that Moody was looking at me when he was talking about the child that survived the Cruciatus curse. My mind was reeling, but I really didn't want to tell anyone, especially Fred being that he was extremely protective. Fred squeezed my hand, and I looked at him. He saw the expression on my face. _Mental Note: I need to work on hiding shock better._

"What's up?" He asked, stopping in the middle of the hallway (getting some dirty looks from others, but not noticing), and pulling my face up to his. I tried to look down, but couldn't.

"Nothing," I replied. It was barely a whisper; he raised an eyebrow at me, and I sighed. "I'll tell you later. We'll be late if we don't hurry." He nodded, and he walked/ ran to class.

"See you after class," he said, kissing me quickly on the lips and running down the hall. I couldn't help but smile. I ran into the room that was sure to be my doom this year.

I took two steps into the classroom when the bell signaling the beginning of class went off. I sighed and took an empty seat by a fifth year Ravenclaw girl; Danielle Nichols. She smiled at me and I returned it, sighing in relief.

"It's so nice of you to grant us with your presence, Ms. Ashton. Your fellow Gryffindors can thank you for losing ten points for them. Make that twenty, seeing as you are not in uniform," He sneered and the other Gryffindors sent dagger eyes at me. I tried to ignore it; it really wasn't a day that I felt like arguing. He returned to talking to the entire class. "Now if you will all turn to page—"

I zoned out, not listening to a word that Snape said for the entire lesson, grateful that he ignored that fact. I was thinking about what Moody said and about what I would eventually (and more than likely, soon) have to tell Fred…

Lunch time; I was hungry, but had lost my appetite to my nerves. I really didn't know what I was going to tell Fred. I did, however, eat some grapes so that no one could badger me about not eating.

I ate in silence, trying to block out all conversation. I couldn't understand why this was bugging me so much. _There is no way that this has anything to do with me. There is absolutely no—_

My thoughts were interrupted as I was pulled out of my them by a strong arm tugging me toward the doors that exited the great hall and into an abandoned classroom on the fourth floor. I didn't have to look up to know who it was. _I should have expected this to happen. _

Fred shut the door behind us, not bothering to make sure anyone was watching. There was worry in his eyes as he stared at me.

"Vi, what happened? Why did you hardly eat anything at lunch?" He advanced towards me, sitting on a very dusty desk and motioning for me to do the same.

I sat down and said," I wasn't hungry," I said quietly.

"Vi, please don't expect me to believe that. I may not be smart, but I ain't dumb." He said the last sentence in a sing-song voice, forcing a small smile out of me. He knew that it was a line from one of my favorite movie/ musicals, Sweeney Todd.

"I know you aren't dumb, and you're not stupid either. I just don't want to worry you if I don't know something for sure… I'm… scared," I whispered, trying not to let the tears that we welling up spill onto my face. How could I only be there for a day and a half and already feel this way?

"Vi, if something is bothering you this much, it's more important that to worry about what I'll think," he whispered, making me relax a little. I sighed, deciding that I might as well tell him. _I trust him. He won't tell anyone._

"Today in Moody's class, we were learning about the… unforgivable curses." Fred looked shocked when I said this but allowed me to continue. "Well, Mad-Eye started showing us how they work-" He raised an eyebrow "o-on a bug," I assured him and he nodded. "When he was done, he started talking about the only person to survive the killing curse- Harry, obviously. But, then he said something about a baby who went through the Cruciatus curse and coming out of it healthier than most adults. He said that the baby was someone in the room. Call me crazy, but I swear Moody was looking at me when he said it." I finished the last part all in one sentence; Fred just stared at me in total shock.

"Wow." I smiled weakly, knowing how he felt.

He pulled me into a hug, rubbing my back. I put my head on his chest, giving a shaky sigh. He started whispering in my ear, as if we weren't the only two in the room, probably on the whole floor.

"I love you so much, Vi. Never forget that. No matter what happens, I'll be here for you. Always."

"I know. Thank you." I kissed him lightly on the lips, making him smile. "Please don't tell anyone else. I don't want everyone all worried when I'm not even sure of what's going on."

"My lips are sealed." He said locking his lips with a pretend key and throwing it over his shoulder. I laughed.

"You may be the biggest dork I've ever met… I guess that's why I love you." He grinned, kissing me again. Right in the middle of the kiss, the ball rang, signaling that we needed to go to class. He groaned on our locked lips, making me grin. I pulled apart, smiling up at him. "Come on." I said, dragging him out of the classroom. One more class, then we're done.

That night it was Fred, Ginny, and I that were the last left in the common room after everyone had gone to bed. We were telling each other about our first day of class. I talked about everything, leaving out only the Cruciatus Curse/ Moody ordeal. I was beyond thankful that Fred kept my secret as well.

"So, what do you think of the two other schools coming to Hogwarts?" Ginny asked, changing the subject out of nowhere. "Ugh," I muttered. I had totally forgotten about that. We only had a few weeks left before they came, and I had heard some things.

"What?" Fred and Ginny asked at the same time. I tried not to laugh. Was it just a Weasley thing to say things in unison?

"Well, my mother went to Beauxbatons for three years before she transferred to Hogwarts. While there, she had dated this boy from Durmstrang. All she told me is that the Beauxbaton girls are usually very stuck up, and that the Durmstrangs are full of themselves." I shrugged, and they both nodded.

"Well, I'm off to bed. I'm beat. Night," Ginny said, giving us a little wave as she made the way up the stairs to our dorm.

Just then, Fred yawned. "If you're tired, go to bed." I said, smiling up at him, trying to show him that I was fine.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asked, his eyebrows pulling together, a small frown forming on his face.

"I promise," I whispered as I kissed his soft lips. "Night. Love you."

"Love you too. Come get me if you need me." He said. I nodded and he kissed me softly once more on the lips, before making the way toward the boys dormitories.

I sighed, resting my head back on the couch, absentmindedly rubbing my forehead. I was tired, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. I stayed down there to try and shut my brain off. I sat just there in silence for about fifteen minutes, almost ready to go to my dorm, finally feeling sleep beginning to overtake me when—

"Psst! Vi! Is that you?" My eyes flew open, I recognized that voice. I looked toward the now dying fire where I thought that the voice had com from, and gasped.

Resting in the midst of the flame was the face of Sirius Black. His features made up of ash and ember.

A/N: Next chapter should be out hopefully by the weekend!


	12. 11 Problems

"SIRIUS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" I screamed, instantly regretting it; I was pretty loud.

"Shhhh! I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he whispered with a look of concern/ nervousness upon his face.

"Um, yeah I'm fine. How are you and Mum?" When I said this, he smiled but there was still a nervous setting to his face.

"Um, well, that was part of what I wanted to talk to you about. When I'm free, I would like your permission to ask your mother to marry me," Sirius glanced at me, meeting my eyes.

"What? Of course you can marry her! I didn't even know that you guys were a couple, though." I grinned and he did as well.

"Well, technically we aren't, but I don't want to ask her until I'm free. I just wanted to get permission from the most important person in Aundrea's life." I smiled, he was so considerate of my feelings on this, and it made me trust him more than I already did.

I changed the subject to something that I thought Sirius would be interested in. "So, did you hear about the Triwizard Tournament?" I asked. His smile soon changed into a frown.

"Yes I did. That was the other thing that I wanted to talk to you about. How old do you have to be to enter?" he asked, his eyebrows pulling together slightly.

"Um, seventeen. Why?" I looked a little nervous to continue, but I smiled at him which seemed to lighten him up a bit.

"Something just doesn't seem right about it to me. I just don't think that it's safe."

"What do you mean?"

He only said one word in reply. "Voldemort." I gasped.

"Y-you think that Voldemort is behind this." I started to panic. I hadn't even considered that to be an option.

"No, Vi. Please calm down. I'm only saying that it's a possibility. The last three years at Hogwarts, strange things have happened. You can attest to that, seeing as how you had a role in all three." I gave a small smile, but my insides felt like ice.

"Just be careful," Sirius whispered, pulling me out of my thoughts of the last three years and how something always seemed to go wrong.

"I will," I whispered, looking down at him and trying my best to put on a brave face.

"I'll see you soon. And not a word to your mother about what we just discussed." I nodded.

"See you later, Sirius."

"Bye, Vi." And with a slight 'pop', Sirius was gone.

I stood there for twenty minutes, just taking in my conversation with Sirius. I only moved when I heard a sound from the boys' dorms. I ran into my dorm not wanting to talk to anyone at the moment.

I crashed onto my bed and fell asleep almost instantly. The only thing that I remember before the darkness was the single tear that rolled down my cheek.

For the first time in a long time, I was the first one in our dorm to get up. I just couldn't sleep. There was too much on my mind. I decided that the only way to really make myself feel better was to wake everyone else up. ;)

I went to my trunk and took out some of the products that Fred and George had given me to test; I decided to take out the fireworks that they had been working on during the summer_. This is going to be great!_

I went in between Ginny and Hermione's bed and placed a firework there, I then went in between Rachel and Diana's beds (they were in the other two Gryffindor fifth years) and placed the other firework there. I put a spell on the door so that no one outside the room would hear us. "Wingardium Leviosa," I whispered toward the firework that was near Rachel's and Diana's beds. I dropped the spell and the burst up toward the ceiling, sprouting out blue, purple, and green. I didn't have time to laugh even though all four of the girls were screaming. I did the same to the firework in between Ginny and Hermione's bed. This firework was pink, yellow, and orange. This was when I started laughing because all of the girls started screaming even louder than before. Sadly, Hermione and Ginny were the only ones laughing (they were glaring, but still, they thought that it was funny.) Rachel and Diana both looked like they wanted to rip my head off. There expressions were very amusing actually. I looked over at Ginny and Hermione. They now looked just as amused as I did. I started to laugh even more.

"What is your problem Ashton? This is _not_ funny!" Diana asked looking shocked and kind of like she wanted to hit me. Rachel had the same expression, but was too afraid to say anything.

"Really? I thought it was great. What did you think Ginny?" I asked. Ginny smiled.

"A little annoying, but I've gotta hand it to you. That was great!" She came over to me and patted my back. Hermione came over to my side to show that she agreed.

"Well, just watch yourself, Ashton." Both girls glared at me, then walked out of the room still wearing their pajamas.

"That was great!" Hermione said, beaming at me. "A little annoying, but still hilarious. Those girls really need to get over themselves." I laughed.

"That's mainly why I did it. I just needed to make myself feel better," I said as I walked over to my trunk to fish out some clean clothes.

"Why?" Ginny asked, her eyebrows pulling together.

I'll tell you guys in a minute. I'm just gonna go get dressed," I said leaving them behind and heading to the bathroom.

I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth. After drying my hair, I decided to add a slight wave to it to mix things up a little. I put on my robes, so I wouldn't get in trouble, but put on a cute outfit under them.

(Click here to see the outfit .com/triwizard_cup/set?id=37724925 )

When I got out, both girls looked slightly annoyed. "How long was I in there?" I wasn't even thinking about that, but I had a feeling that I took forever getting ready.

"About forty-five minutes." Hermione answered looking at the clock on the wall.

"Oh. Sorry, but I look cute right?" I did a little spin, but they both just gave me a look that simply said, _Stop_.

"So what was so important that you had to tell us?" Hermione and Ginny both had their arms crossed. They were both already dressed, and had brushed their hair out here. I felt kind of bad.

"Well, last night after everyone went to bed, I was sitting in the common room, and I talked to Sirius and—

"Wait. You talked to Sirius? How?" Ginny was practically screaming when she said this. Her voice is just one that carries. She also looked a little frightened. She knew that Sirius was innocent, but she was still somewhat scared of him.

"Shhhh! Yes, I talked to Sirius. I don't know how, really. His face appeared in the fire." They both looked at me like I was crazy. "Well, it did!" I could understand Ginny not knowing what I was talking about, but Hermione? I hoped that he wouldn't get into even more trouble…

"Is that all that happened?" Ginny asked, looking a little annoyed. "I want to go to breakfast." She started to walk toward the door.

"No, actually it isn't. He is going to ask my Mum to marry him." At this, Ginny turned around and started jumping up and down, grinning so hard that I thought her might split in half.

"Really?" Ginny asked, her voice getting really squeaky. Hermione and I both stifled a laugh. "That's great, I'm so happy for her!" Ginny loved my mum. After I met Ginny, she came over all the time when we weren't at school. Mum loved Ginny too. She was like her second daughter.

"Yeah, it is. But there was something else he said as well." At this, both Hermione's and Ginny's grins turned into frowns. Was it really that obvious that this was a bad thing?

"Are you okay, Vi? You look like you're about to cry," Hermione said, coming up and putting an arm around my shoulder. Ginny did the same.

"What I'm about to say can be shared with no one. Not until it's time." They both nodded. "Sirius told me that he thinks that V-Voldemort might be behind the tournament. Or is at least planning on doing something." They both cringed when I said his name. "Oh, chill. He won't come and get you just for saying his name!" _Well, that made them listen._ "He said that since something has gone wrong the last three years here, it's only likely that something will happen this year. All we have to do it keep on the lookout for anything suspicious." They both nodded, and we got up and walked out of the common room without another word. We tried to make it look like we had just been laughing so that no one would suspect us of anything.

Of course, both Fred and George were waiting for me. _Ready to drag me down to breakfast._

"Finally! Come on, woman!" George said, but before he could pick me up, he saw my face. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"Vi pulled a prank on us this morning. It was quite good actually." Hermione answered, saving the day. I hadn't even thought about why we might have been laughing.

"What did you do?" Fred asked coming up to me, grinning. He put his arm around my waist.

"I shot off some of those fireworks that you gave me to try. They work," I confirmed. He put his arm even tighter around me.

"That's my girl!" He said this really loudly. A couple people gave us funny looks. I was just glad that Rachel and Diana were gone. They probably would have made an even bigger scene. I had to admit it though, I was pretty proud of myself.

"Why, thank you Sir. Now let's go to breakfast before George starves to death," I said, looking over at George who had a frown on his face. Everyone laughed.

"What? I'm a growing boy! I need to eat!" Everyone laughed a little harder at the look on his face. We all walked toward the door.

I didn't even realize how hungry I was! I had my favorite Hogwarts breakfast; hash browns with bacon. YUMMY!

After breakfast, Dumbledore got up and went to his podium to speak. "Students, today is the day that our guest schools arrive!" Ugh. I had forgotten about that with everything else that had gone on since last night. I slammed my head down on the table.

"Try not to give yourself a concussion, Love," Fred said, rubbing my back_. AWWW! He called me Love! I have the best boyfriend ever! _

"I would like to take this time to welcome the lovely ladies of Beauxbaton!" Dumbledore said, gesturing to the doors leading into the Entrance Hall. All of a sudden, all these girls stared coming through the doors. They were all wearing these horrid blue outfits, and were prancing as they walked. I gagged, and Fred pulled me tighter into his arms. He laughed quietly. You could tell that most of these girls were at least part Veela, and that they used that as a way to get boys to like them. I had always refused to do that. One of them winked at George who raised an eyebrow. Ron and Harry were both in shock. Ron was giving George a murderous look. _Disgusting._

When they were done with their little… dance, Dumbledore began to speak again. "I would now like to welcome the men from Durmstrang Academy!" He again gestured toward the doors where the 'Veela Princesses' had come in through. This time, most of the girls in the room (and Ron) were in shock. There were lots of 'cute' boys, but everyone was really excited because among them was none other than Viktor Krum. I yawned. Fred laughed. I was sitting next to Hermione, who was among the girls like me, who looked as though they couldn't care less about this whole thing.

All of a sudden, Viktor Krum was standing by our table. He saw Hermione and I, and came up to us. Despite the fact that Fred had his arms around me, he winked at me. I just glared back, and did Fred. Knowing that he wasn't going to get what he wanted, he looked on to Hermione. She _was_ glaring at him. That was until he kissed her hand. She then went over to the dark side. I looked over at her as he left and she gave me an apologetic smile. I just shook my head as she started giggling.

Dumbledore began to speak once again after Durmstrangs little performance was done. "May I have your attention please?" Dumbledore yelled, causing the whole world to be quiet. "Welcome! You all know why you're here. I'm sure that we are all excited. Eternal glory. That is what awaits those who are _seventeen or older_." He looked at the twins, making me laugh. "Those who wish to submit their names into the Triwizard Cup!" With that, he pointed his wand at a lump with a cloth on it (I hadn't noticed it before). Beneath it laid the Triwizard cup. I was beautiful and part looked like it was made of crystal. Everyone opened their mouth in awe. Fred and George looked like they were about to cry. I patted their shoulders. They had really wanted to enter. I turned my attention back to Dumbledore, who was talking again.

"Anyone wishing to enter the tournament merely writes their name upon a piece of parchment by this time on Thursday night. As of this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun."

It was Thursday night, and we had just been ushered into the Great Hall to find out who the champions were. I laughed recalling the week in my mind. Fred and George had ended up trying to enter. I had helped them make an age potion as I had promised I would. I mainly did it for amusement. Let me just say that it was very amusing.

Dumbledore began to speak. "I would like to take this moment to announce the champions and thank everyone who was willing to go through this." Just then, a small piece of parchment came out of the fire from the goblet that had just turned blue. Dumbledore caught it, and then turned back to all of us.

"The Beauxbatons champion is Fleur Delacour." Everyone clapped as the girl who had winked at George on the night everyone arrived, stood up. Dumbledore shook the girl—who was definitely a Veela—and gestured her toward a room just off behind the teachers table.

Another piece of parchment then flew out of the fire, which had again turned blue. "The Durmstrang champion… Viktor Krum." Ron clapped harder than most of the girls in the room. I laughed at him, as did everyone else. Krum shook Dumbledore's hand, and he too entered the room behind the teachers table.

Another piece of parchment came out of the fire and I looked over at the Hufflepuff table. Everyone knew that Cedric Diggory was going to become the Hogwarts champion. I was in the room when he entered. He was so confident. "The Hogwarts champion… Cedric Diggory!" Everyone except the Slytherine table clapped. The Hufflepuff table was ecstatic.

"That's it! Thank you to e—" Dumbledore had stopped talking and was looking back at the goblet. I looked over at it and noticed that it had turned blue once more. Dumbledore grabbed the parchment and looked at it. I could tell that he was trying to be quiet, but everyone could hear it when he whispered.

"Harry Potter… HARRY POTTER!"

Oh, crap.

A/N: Please tell me what you think of the story! Thanks!


	13. 12 I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing

"HARRY POTTER!" Dumbledore shouted. Everyone was silent and looking at Harry. His eyes were so wide that they looked like they could explode. Hermione, the closest person to Harry at the table, nudged him forward. He stood slowly, and awkwardly walked toward Dumbledore. As he walked, people shouted things like, "He isn't even _seventeen yet_!", and "How did_ he _get his name in there?" My heart broke a little for Harry with each yell that came his way. He looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

After Harry went into the room Dumbledore told us to follow our head boy and girl back to our dorms. I grabbed Fred's hand and squeezed it as we all walked back to the common room.

"He'll be okay," Fred whispered in my ear. I hoped and prayed that he was right. I looked one more time toward the teachers table. A few were walking into the room. Last but not least, was Dumbledore, and he did not look happy.

We all waited up for Harry, all of us except Ron. He, apparently, thought that Harry put his name in the goblet. The rest of us knew that there was no way that Harry would do something like that. He already despised being famous. Why would he want to purposely publicize himself even more?

When Harry walked in after an hour and a half of waiting, all of us girls engulfed him in a hug while the boys just sat there, looking awkward. He just sat down on a couch near the rest of us, stunned. We sat there not saying a word for about five minutes. Finally, I got sick of the silence and spoke.

"Harry? Harry, what happened?" He slowly looked him my direction. I thought that he was either going to cry or scream. He surprised me by not doing either.

"I have to do it," He relied calmly, just staring off into space.

"Do what?" I asked quietly as I disentangled myself from Fred and walked over to him. I sat on the table in front of him. He gave a shaky breath, but answered my question.

"I have to compete in the tournament. Mr. Crouch said there is no turning back." At this, I engulfed him in a hug once again, which he returned. Soon everyone else had joined in, even the guys. We must have sat there for five minutes, just hugging him until Hermione finally spoke.

"It's going to be alright, Harry. We're all going to help you. Right, guys?" she asked; we all nodded.

He finally asked the question that we were all dreading to answer.

"Hey, where's Ron?" We all looked down at our hands. This was about as awkward as things could get. Finally, Ginny spoke.

"H-he, uh, he said that youputyournameinthegoblet," She said this all in one second, but Harry understood.

Suddenly, he got up. "I'm going to bed," He whispered, and with that, he slowly walked up to the boys' dorm.

We just sat there stunned.

Harry's POV

When I crawled into bed, I was fuming. I had just had a major argument with Ron. How could he think that I would want to publicize myself like that! I didn't ask for this… To be honest, I thought that there was a slight chance that he was jealous.

I just wanted to try and stop thinking, but my brain would not shut off. It was one of those times when I needed either Hermione or Vi to whip up a dreamless sleep potion. I basically just sat there all night, trying to figure out how I was going to deal with this. The last thing I thought before finally giving up the possibility of sleep and getting up was this_: At least I have a few good friends who will stick by me no matter what. _

Vi's POV

I went to my dorm soon after Hermione and Ginny. I was really tired, but I already knew that there was no way that I would be able to sleep. I must have sat there for an hour before I decided to give up. There was only one way I would be able to sleep.

I quietly snuck into the sixth year boys dorms, and found Fred in the second farthest bed to the right. He looked so peaceful in the moonlight, his hair was all over his face; I just couldn't help but smile. He was perfect.

I slowly walked over to his bed and poked his shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his bed after the fifth time I poked him, but somehow didn't make a sound.

"Vi?" he asked groggily. I nodded leaning down on my knees so that I could look him straight in the eyes. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked taking both of my hands and looking me in the eyes.

"I decided to take you up on your offer. I can't shut my brain off." At this, we both laughed quietly. He then grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into bed with him.

"Well, you're welcome here any time," he whispered, looking deep into my eyes. I hugged him and he kissed my hair. I snuggled as close to him as possible.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, trying to be as quiet as possible; George's snoring had just faltered. I shook my head and he nodded.

"Night Vi."

"Night Fred. I love you."

"I love you too. I always will."

The last thing that went through my mind as I fell into a peaceful and dreamless sleep, was that song by Aerosmith "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing". At this moment, that song said everything that I felt about Fred. Cheesy maybe, but true.

The next morning, I woke up to George yelling, "My eyes! My beautiful eyes!" He had opened the curtain to Fred's bed and had seen us cuddling.

I looked up at him and glared. "George Weasley, you are lucky that no one else is in this room!" I was also grateful for that, I really didn't feel like getting in trouble for sleeping in the boys' dorm.

I reluctantly got out of the bed, and made my way to the door.

"And where do you think you're going?" Fred asked, looking at me like I was crazy.

"I'm going to get dressed?" I said as though it was a question.

"Why?"

"Um, I have to go to class. Meet me downstairs?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'll miss you," Fred said. I left the room giggling.

As soon as I got in the room, all I could hear was yelling.

"Vi! Where were you?" It was Hermione.

"I was with Fred. I couldn't sleep last night." Hermione and Ginny looked kind of relieved.

"Good. After what you told us about what Sirius said, well…" Ginny looked at me and I understood what she meant. I nodded.

"Sorry for scaring you… I'm just going to get dressed," I said, doing my best to drop the subject. I dressed quickly, grabbing my robes so that I could put them over my outfit before class, and went back downstairs to meet everyone. Hermione and Ginny had left our dorm, so I figured that they were probably down in the common room as well.

(See outfit here .com/dont_wanna_miss_thing/set?id=37777033 )

"Hey, Love," Fred said, taking my hand as we got downstairs. I looked around at everyone, and noticed that someone was missing (not including Ron, as I was assuming that he was still mad).

"Where's Harry?" I asked no one in particular.

"He said that he needed to think things through." Ginny answered.

I looked over at Fred. "You go to breakfast. I'll meet you there later." I kissed him and walked out of the common room. I had a pretty good feeling of where I would find Harry. I knew where he usually went when he needed to get away to think about things.

As I entered the Quidditch stadium, I smiled. There sitting in the commentators' box was Harry, his black hair sticking up, his broom in one hand. He must have just been flying.

"Hey, Potter!" I shouted, making him jump. "Get your butt down here! I'm too lazy to walk up all those stairs!" He smiled back at me as he got on his broom and flew down to me.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He looked at me and was no longer smiling.

"Not really," he answered truthfully. The look on his face made my heart break a little.

"Is it because of Ron? Because he isn't worth it. Just let him be a stupid git. The rest of us believe you." I hugged him and he hugged back tightly. It was about five minutes before he answered my question.

"Partly that, along with the fact that only my friends believe that I didn't do it, and I have to do this against my will. I already hate being famous!" He said, kicking a rock in frustration. I looked deep into his eyes.

"That's not all, is it?" I asked. He looked hesitant, but after about a minute, he nodded slowly.

"Well, what is it?" I asked. He went quiet again. "Harry, you know that you can tell me anything. I won't get mad. I promise." We stood there awkwardly for a good ten minutes before he answered me.

"Well, I uh, really like this girl. I know for a fact that she doesn't like me back, but I think that I might be in love with her." He looked up at me, and I felt nothing but sympathy and sadness for him. He had already been through so much. I knew that love hurt first hand. I had to watch Angelina flirt with Fred for almost five years.

"Who is it?" He hesitated, and I realized how rude I was being. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."

After about a minute, he spoke. "No. No, I'll tell you."

Before I could react, Harry had his lips pressed against mine.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Sorry, I had to do a cliffhanger! Hopefully the next chapter will be up within a few days!


	14. 13 Anywhere But Here

Fred's POV

I had finished my breakfast with still an hour until class started, so I decided to go look for Vi. I assumed that she was comforting Harry. Poor kid; I really felt bad for him. I started to get up from the table, only to be bombarded by George. I should have known better.

"Where're you goin', bro?" he asked, looking up from a conversation he was having with Lee about some of our products that hadn't been fully tested yet. George was trying to get Lee to test some love potions, but Lee refused knowing that if he did so, he would end up looking like an idiot.

"I'm just going to go find Vi," I replied, getting the rest of the way up from the table. I was walking away when Lee began to speak.

"Okay, but be careful; she could be busy snogging someone else." Both Lee and George began to laugh at this; I soon joined in. There was no way that that would happen.

I walked around outside—guessing at where most people went when they need to think—for about fifteen minutes when I saw two figures through a curtain that marked the rim of the Quidditch pitch. Guessing who it was, I walked slowly toward the curtain- doing my best to be as quiet as possible- and began to lift it up. I had intended to jump out and scare Harry and Vi for a good laugh, but instead I was the one who had ended up being scared.

I was right; Vi was comforting Harry. Lee was also right; she was comforting him by snogging him.

I ran. I didn't know where I was going and I didn't care how much noise I made. I just knew that I had to be anywhere but here.

Vi's POV

I don't know exactly how long Harry kissed me; maybe a minute or so. I didn't kiss back, but I didn't pull away either. I just sat there frozen as he tried to get a reaction out of me, but I was too shocked to even push him away or hex him. After the third time of trying to get his tongue in my mouth, he gave up and just stared at me; he looked quite nervous. I sat there for about five minutes, still frozen, before Harry finally spoke.

"D-did you hear something before?" he asked me in a husky yet worried voice. I sat there for about another minute before, finally, I moved.

"I've gotta go," I whispered, running as fast as I could back up to the school. I heard Harry yell after me several times, but I ignored him. I had to get out of here; now.

I was back to the school in a matter of two minutes. I didn't realize how cold it had been outside until I felt the warmth of the Entrance Hall, but I didn't have time to be grateful for that, or anything else for that matter. I knew that I wouldn't be able to face Fred at this point— he would surely notice the look of guilt on my face-, so I decided that the best decision at the moment would just be to go back to my dorm and calm myself down until it was time for class. I had lost my appetite by that point anyway.

I decided to take the long way by going down the hall that is normally only used for classes. Being that students aren't allowed to go this way except during class times, I was looking left and right as I walked. I was walking - well, jogging- for about five minutes when I stopped dead in my tracks. I had seen something that I thought that I would never see in my life.

I gasped loudly and they both heard me. Both of their faces turned towards me. The girl smiled.

Fred's POV

I ran as fast as I could down the corridor that we weren't really allowed to go down so that no one would see me. I was almost in tears—I never cried- and running as fast as I could.

I was about a minute away from the common room when I ran into someone, knocking us both down.

"I'm sorry!" I said quietly, getting up and pulling the person up with me. I looked down at my feet so that they wouldn't see the look on my face. I had so many emotions running through me and I was almost at my breaking point. I just wanted to scream, or cry, or even laugh hysterically. I couldn't even find words for what was going through my brain at that point.

"It's fine, Freddy," the person said in a in a somewhat seductive tone. I recognized the person's at once- Angelina. Gag.

"What's wrong, Freddy?" she asked, pulling my face down toward hers. She seemed to notice when I flinched at her touch. "Do you want to talk about it?" I still don't really know why but at this, I nodded.

"Okay, follow me." Like I had a choice. She was dragging me with both hands. She was surprisingly strong for being such a small girl. Before I knew it, I was sitting next to Katie on the teacher's desk of an abandoned classroom.

"What's up?" She asked quietly. At the time it had sounded like she generally cared about me. Deep down I knew that she didn't, but it was still nice to _feel_ wanted after what I had just witnessed. She gently stroked my right hand with her pointer finger, and looked into my eyes. I looked away. She sighed.

"Fred, is it something with Vi?" She asked; I could feel her stare on me and could tell that she hoped that my answer was yes to this question. I didn't really see the point in lying, so I nodded my head once, and I could feel her smile as she began to speak once more.

"Do you want to forget about her, Freddy?" she whispered quietly in my ear. I nodded once more. I knew that I was lying to myself, but I couldn't wrap my brain around what had happened.

The next thing I knew, she had grabbed my face with one hand, and the collar of my robes in the other. Her lips came down on mine so fast and violently that I had no time to react. The only thing going through my mind was,_ This is so different from Vi. _I didn't mean that in a good way.

She sat there snogging me for five minutes. I didn't move. I didn't react in any way, but she wasn't giving up without a fight. I didn't even stop her when her tongue slid into my mouth without warning. It was so wrong, but I was so shocked that I couldn't do anything about it.

That was when I heard a gasp. Angelina both looked up at the door. My heart broke when I saw Vi standing there, tears threatening to slide down her face. I saw Angelina smile up at her.

"Yes, Ashton?" she asked, grinning like a mad woman.

"Nothing," Vi replied simply, running down the corridor toward the common room.

Without another word to Angelina, I got up and ran in the direction that Vi had gone.

I followed her into the common room and saw that she was sitting down on the couch, sobbing. My heart broke even more if that were even possible. I didn't even see her look at me when she began to speak.

"How could you?" she asked still not looking at me. I knew Vi, so I knew that she wouldn't look at me because she hated it when people she didn't trust saw her crying. That hurt more than anything, but I said the one thing that I thought would at least make me feel a _little_ better.

"I could ask you the same thing. Harry a good kisser?" I asked. This was when she finally decided to look at me; hurt being the most apparent emotion on her face.

"You saw us?" she asked, crying even harder, but not trying to hide her face from mine.

"Yeah, I did. I went looking for you because I was worried. How could _you_ do that to _me_?" I said, looking her straight in the face.

"You must know that I didn't do it," she whispered. "After everything that we've been through, how could you think that?"

"I saw you." I whispered back. I really wasn't even mad. I was just hurt.

After about five minutes of neither of us talking, she asked the question that I had been dreading.

"So, what do we do now?" she whispered. She had stopped crying, but I could see the tears coming back to her eyes.

"I think we need to take a break," I whispered after about three minutes. The look on her face instantly made me regret what I had said, but I couldn't take it back now. She got up and stood in front of me. The thing she said next simply ripped my heart to shreds, there was no more breaking; this went straight past that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. With that, she ran up to her dorm.

A/N: I'm really, really, really sorry that this took me so long to update. I've been really busy/ sick. Thanks for being patient! :D


	15. 14 The First Task

_Dear Mum, _

_ Thank you so much for the letter you sent to me. I miss you too and can't wait to see you!_

_ I'm sorry that I haven't been writing lately, but I've been so busy lately. I'm sure that Sirius told you that Fred and I are… dating. That's over. To be honest, I'm glad it is. We decided that we are better at just being friends; it was really awkward. I'm okay; really. _

_ I'm really happy that you and Sirius are still able to talk and I'm even happier that he is okay. He is the only father figure I've ever had in my life; maybe someday we can all be happy together as a family. _

_ Have you heard about the Tri Wizard Tournament as well? I'm sure Sirius has told you. If not, Harry has been entered as the fourth champion in the Tri Wizard Tournament that is being held this year at Hogwarts. Yes, forth. No one knows what has happened and how his name came out of the Goblet of Fire. I'm really worried about him. Keep him in your thoughts and heart._

_ Also, I thought that you would find it amusing that our rival schools are Durmstrang __and__ Beauxbatons. I tried not to laugh when that was announced. I could only think of the stories that you told me of your experiences with both schools. Maybe someday I'll have stories as entertaining as those about my time at Hogwarts._

_ I just want you to know how much I miss you and love you. I'll see you on the Christmas holidays._

_Love always,_

_Vi_

I quickly signed my name and sealed the letter to my mum. I hated lying to her and that was what most of the letter was; at least the part about being over Fred. One big fat lie.

Sighing, I walked over to Parakeet, my black feathered owl, who was waiting silently by the window. She was waiting for me.

I sighed, tying the letter to Parakeet's leg and letting him fly into the light of the rising sun. I was remembering the day that Fred had helped me buy Parakeet three years earlier. He had insisted on helping me buy him with his allowance, knowing how badly I wanted him; every time that we went to Diagon Alley, I would stare through the window of Eyelopes and stare at the beautiful bird. Finally giving up, I let Fred help me purchase the owl on one condition; he chose the bird's name. I still laugh at the name that Fred chosen sometimes. It surprisingly fit the beautiful black bird perfectly.

Silent tears fell from my eyes as I recalled all of these memories. After being apart for about a month, I still cried at least once a day over Fred, if not more. Sadly, I had to put on a happy, brave face as soon as I left this room. Today was the day of the first task and I didn't want to freak Harry out any more than he already was.

Things had slightly gotten back to normal between Harry and I. We were happy in front of our friends, who didn't know (all except Fred). The three of us-Fred, Harry, and I—had decided not to tell anyone what had happened; it would just create a bigger problem. Fred had also forgiven Harry about what had happened. To be honest, I was surprised by this fact. I just didn't get it.

Things between Fred and I were also mostly back to the way they had been; two best friends who pretended to not be sure about their feelings for each other. I knew of my feelings for Fred; they hadn't changed in the last four years or so. I just didn't know if he felt the same way.

Today I was helping the twins take bets on who would win the first task. Fred and I still hadn't been alone since the breakup; the whole situation still killed me inside.

I had nightmares about the kiss I saw between him and Angelina every night. In the dream, there was nothing different. He seemed just as hurt as he did when we broke up, and I felt just as terrible. That proved to me that night had simply been a nightmare; one of my biggest fears_. It is my fault that it even happened. I have no one to blame but myself. _That was what my inner monologue told me every time I thought of what happened that night.

I sighed shakily as I got one last glimpse of Parakeet flying into the light of the rising sun, before turning to the rest of the room. I was glad that I was the first one awake. I got up at five that morning not being able to sleep. I was both worried for Harry and trying to calm my nerves from the fact that I would be hanging out with Fred (and George) all day long.

I quietly shook both Hermione and Ginny awake, completely ignoring Rachel and Diana's drooling and snoring forms. Since the breakup, I had lost the will to prank, so that was how I woke them. After I knew that they were both awake, I walked silently to the bathroom to get ready without saying a word to either of my two best girl friends.

I decided to not do anything with my hair and put no makeup on. I just wasn't in the mood for any of that when I felt like this. I brushed my teeth, and changed into one of my more boring outfits before walking back out the door.

(see outfit here )

The girls gave each other a nervous glance before looking at me sympathetically. I just stood there bored, waiting for what had happened every other day since Fred and I broke up.

"Vi, w-" I cut Hermione off by lifting my hand up, then began to speak.

"Guys, we go through this every day. Yes, I love Fred and I always will. We just don't feel the kind of love that we thought we did for each other. We both realized that we are better off staying friends." I tried to smile through the lie. I was feeding them the same story that I had fed my mum. I could tell that neither of them bought it (people tend to be able to know when I'm lying, because I bite my bottom lip), but the both gave up, nodding silently. I tried to smile reassuringly (failing completely) as I walked past them.

_ Time to face the music._ I thought before heading further away from my dorm and closer to the twins.

Fred's POV

"Bets! Take your bets here!" Vi shouted at a couple of first year Hufflepuffs. Looking frightened, they shuffled away making her shrug. We had been taking bets for about an hour, and it stung my heart that it was another hour that I couldn't hold her.

I stared at her and felt that pang in my heart again when she noticed my staring and smiled. After about ten seconds of just smiling at each other, my idiot brother decided to speak up.

"Okay Children, let's get going. We need to find out who wins the task if we want to get our money!" We both blushed and looked away from each other as we walked away.

Vi's POV

We sat up high in the balcony of the stadium where the task was taking place. I sat in between Fred and George. Ron was on Fred's other side (even though he was still angry at Harry, you could tell that he supported his best friend), Ginny was on George's other side and was saving a spot next to her for Hermione, who was nowhere to be seen.

We sat there talking about the advantages that the contestants had on each other when, after about ten minutes, Hermione came up and sat next to Ginny. She had her arms crossed over her chest and looked like she wanted to rip someone's head off. I gave her a questioning look and she gave me one that said, I'll_ tell you later_. I nodded and looked up to where Professor McGonagall was (Dumbledore was with the champions); she was getting ready to speak.

"May I have your attention please?" Everyone shut up at the look she gave some of us. "When the cannon sounds-" McGonagall didn't continue to speak as a cannon went off at that very moment. Just then Cedric Diggory came out of a tent off the side of the stadium looking paralyzed with fright. It was weird to see him like this being that he was always so confident. He walked out into the stadium slowly, earning cheers. I was wondering what the task could be when—

BAM!

A giant dragon came out of nowhere, looking like it wanted to kill Cedric; I was sure that it could, too. I wasn't sure exactly what type of dragon it was, but that didn't matter. You could tell that it kill you with one flick of its tail if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cedric was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Just then, I noticed something goldish in color glinting on the ground about sixty feet ahead of Cedric. It was circular—almost spherical—and it was block by the dragon. The object of the task hit me in a matter of seconds.

_They have to get an egg from a mother dragon…_

The first three contestants had gotten through their tasks and it had been about two hours. The only person left was Harry and I was more anxious then I had been in a long time. When he walked out, I squeezed my eyes shut and felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into Fred's eyes.

"He'll be alright," he whispered in my ear. I nodded. It took all the restraint I had not to press my lips to his right then and there. I think he knew now that I loved Harry, just not the way that it must have appeared on the day that we broke up. I breathed shakily as Harry slowly neared the egg. I should have expected what happened next, but I still grabbed Fred's hand tightly as the dragon jumped in front of Harry. I recognized _this_ type of dragon.

The Hungarian Horntail. One of the most dangerous types of dragon in the world.

After about five minutes of running aimlessly around, I heard Hermione—who had been helping Harry train for the task—yell, "Harry! Your _wand_! Grab your _wand_!"

Harry obeyed without any time to spare, because the dragon was on his tail and getting ready to blow fire at him. He grabbed the wand that was sticking out of his pocket and yelled, "ACCIO FIREBOLT!

Just then, Harry's Firebolt (I was still jealous that he had it) came flying out of a window from the castle and quickly into his waiting hand. He mounted his broom in less than a second and kicked off of the ground, the dragon right on his tail still.

He flew in the direction of the castle trying his best to get away from the dragon, but still leaving destruction similar to a tornado in his path. I looked down at my feet, breathing heavily as I held tightly onto Fred's hand.

Not ten minutes after Harry disappeared near the castle behind us, we all heard a whizzing noise and stood up, turning around. There, now flying over our heads was Harry on his Firebolt. He took a quick dive even though death was still on his tail, he reached his hand out for the egg and—

Cheers. They were all you could hear for probably miles.

Charlie Weasley (who I had just noticed was there) went with a few other dragon trainers to calm the dragon down and put it back into its giant cage. Harry stood in the middle of the stadium, smiling and holding the golden egg up over his head. I smiled down at him as he looked up at all of us. Right now I couldn't be happier, given my current life situation. Harry was safe and that was all that mattered.

Twenty minutes later, we were on our way back to the common room, all smiling and chatting, when I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned around to see Professor McGonagall staring back at me. My smile quickly turned to a frown at the look on her face.

` "Ms. Ashton, I need you to come to my office with me. You may want to bring one of your friends along." I grabbed Fred's hand; he was the only one who had turned round to see why I wasn't following everyone back to the common room to the celebration that he and George had prepared for Harry. He was who I would have chosen anyway. He nodded and we walked quickly with Professor McGonagall.

About five minutes later, we were walked into McGonagall's office. I was surprised to see that Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for us just inside the office door. I smiled nervously up at him as he gestured for Fred and I to sit at the two chairs opposite the main chair by the desk. McGonagall sat down at her chair looking into my eyes, and Dumbledore grabbed a chair from the corner of the room (not bothering to used magic) and sat beside her. They both looked at each other—speaking without words—before Dumbledore nodded at McGonagall. She sighed and turned to me.

"Ms. Ashton, I am afraid that it is my duty to inform you that your mother—"

And that was when my whole world came crashing down.

A/N: Yet another cliffhanger. Muahahaha!


	16. 15 Reality Sucks

"Ms. Ashton, I am afraid that it is my duty to inform you that your mother in St. Mungo's at the moment. She went into a coma late this morning," McGonagall informed me, looking straight into my eyes. "Professor Dumbledore and I thought—"

I was drowning her, along with everything else, out at this point. I couldn't comprehend the fact that she was talking about Mum. My mum. The strongest person I had ever known simply couldn't be in a coma.

"How did this happen?" I interrupted as McGonagall was going on about how lucky Mum was to even be alive. _This isn't happening. It's not possible. _Despite how startled the professor looked, though, she answered my question.

"I'm sorry to say that she was tortured by the means of the Cruciatus curse. We are not su—"

"Who did this?" I screamed, standing up. I was even more hysterical than before. At least I was, until I felt a pair of strong arms pull me back to sit down beside them. I looked into Fred's deep green eyes, feeling slightly more relaxed. My lips still quivering, I stared out into space. I couldn't look at him at that moment. We were all silent; Fred rubbed comforting circles on my back with his left hand, while he held me to him with his right. _This is not fair!_ Silent tears fell from my eyes, but I wasn't embarrassed. The professors didn't speak for about ten minutes until I was calm enough to listen.

"Well, are we ready to go then?" Dumbledore asked, looking at me over his half-moon spectacles. He held out his hand to both Fred and I.

"Ready for what?" I asked, my voice cracking from trying to hold back the sobs that had so desperately wanted to escape. Fred leaned down to my ear and whispered an explanation.

"We're going to go to St. Mungo's to see your mum." Fred repeated what I missed when I had zoned out earlier.

"But only if you feel comfortable with it, Violet," Dumbledore said softly. He was the only person that I had ever allowed to call me by my whole name.

Dumbledore looked deep into my eyes searching for an answer. He must have found it, because the next thing I knew, he was holding both mine and Fred's hands, and leading us to the middle of the room.

"You are in charge until my return, Minerva." Professor McGonagall nodded, and we were gone. I felt a tugging on my navel for about a second; it wasn't painful, it was just strange.

Before I knew what was going on, we were in a hospital room, and I was staring down at my unmoving mother.

I felt my knees buckle slightly as I almost fell over; partly from the shock of seeing my mum like this, and partly from the shock of apparating for the first time. Luckily, Fred was there holding me up at the waist to keep me from passing out.

"Will you be okay looking after her for a while, Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore asked Fred almost too quietly for me to hear.

"Yes, Sir." Fred said, still hanging on to my waist.

"Very well," Dumbledore nodded, stepping back from the bed as he talked. "I should be back in about three hours." I felt Fred nod as his head was on top of mine. "I'm very sorry, Violet," he added. And, just like he had come, he was gone.

As soon as Dumbledore left, I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold it in any longer. I sobbed so hard that I felt my face might explode. Looking at my mum… she looked like she was dead, and that terrified me more than anything.

I felt Fred turn me around into his arms and hold me against his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair in the most soothing way possible, and just let me soak his shirt_. I miss him too much._

"She's gonna be okay, Vi. She's the second strongest person I've ever met," Fred said into my hair. I looked up into his beautiful eyes, mine still red and puffy.

"W-Who's the fir-first?" I managed to stammer out. I honestly didn't expect his answer to be what it was; I was just curious and wanted to avoid looking down at my mum for as long as possible.

"You."

That probably would have been the perfect time to kiss had it been a normal day. Unfortunately, the day had been anything but normal, and my mum was in a coma a few feet away from us, so we just stared at each other until it became unbearably awkward. I turned away abruptly, not knowing what else to do, and walked over to Mum's side.

I looked down at her fragile and pale body, and just felt numb. I didn't cry. I don't think that I could have anyway; I'd cried all the tears I could muster just moments before.

"Oh, Mum." I put my hand to where her heart was, and felt that it was still beating, though not at a very strong pace. With my other hand, I laced my fingers with hers.

I must have stood there for about a half hour before I noticed it; there were two pieces of parchment in her pockets. One was the letter I had written to her earlier that morning. I widened my eyes in surprise at the other. At the top it read "Dear Vi," _She must have written this right before she was cursed…_

I stood there and began to read the letter from my mum. The letter that she never had the chance to send.

_Dear Vi,_

_ I miss you too, baby. So much. More than you could possibly imagine._

_ I hope that things get better between you and Fred soon. No offense honey, but you aren't a very good liar. Not even in writing. I saw the way that the two of you looked at each other before you left; there is no possible way to get over love so fast._

_ Things between Sirius and I are good. I just hope that he can hide away somewhere closer to us soon. I miss him almost as much as I miss you. We__** will**__ be a family someday; that I can promise you._

_ Yes, Sirius told me about the tournament. I'm sure that Harry will be fine. He has already gone through what most adult could never go through. He is strong. You just have to believe in him._

_ Haha! Beauxbatons and Durmstrang? I'm sorry to hear that. Good luck; that's all I can say. Also, with some of the things that you get yourself into at school, there is no doubt in my mind that you will have some… interesting stories to tell your family one day; trust me on that one._

_ I love you more than I thought I could ever love. You will understand what love truly feels like one day when you have kids. Don't make that too soon please!_

_ I'll be waiting at Kings Cross Station for you to get off the train when holidays start. I love you more than anything and I will see you then._

_All the love in my heart,_

_Mum_

I waited until the end of the letter before I started to sob again. I was so sad and angry; more so than I could ever remember being before that. She was the best person that I had ever met and it simply wasn't fair.

I lost it.

I fell to the floor and cried harder than I ever had before. _What if she doesn't make it? I can't live without her. _

I wasn't sitting there long before I felt a pair of strong and comforting arms go around my waist. I turned myself around in Fred's arms and cried harder than I ever had in my life, getting his shirt soaked once again. He didn't even speak and neither did I. Somehow, I found _that_ more comforting that I would have found anything else. He just rubbed and kissed my hair and I felt—

Wait, KISSED?

I looked up at Fred with a look of confusion; there was a look of pure love plastered on his face. This look did anything but falter as he placed a soft and comforting kiss on my lips. For some reason, I didn't feel guilty when I kissed him back. It didn't feel wrong that we were doing this in front of my mum's (almost) lifeless body. It felt right; like this was meant to be.

After kissing Fred like that for about five minutes, a wave of exhaustion crashed over me. I lay my forehead against his and looked deep into his eyes.

"I love you," I whispered softly.

"I love you too, Vi. Always have, always will. Now get some rest." I tried to get up, but realized that I was so tired, I couldn't even stand.

"Help me?" I asked, trying to make puppy dog eyes through the droopiness in how tired I felt.

He didn't answer. Instead he picked me up, chuckling quietly, and set me in a chair next to the one that he had sat down in when I was reading Mum's letter. I wanted badly for him to come and sit with me; the chairs were pretty big. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my voice so I scooted my chair closer to his, and rested my head on his chest.

"Night, Vi." I still couldn't speak, so I nodded as a response. That was the last thing I remembered before—

"Vi… Vi!" My eyes shot open; Fred was shaking me awake. I looked and slightly behind Fred stood Dumbledore. "We have to go back to the castle,"

I stood up quickly and looked over at Mum's bed. She looked just the same as she did before; lifeless except for the slow pulse running through her body. This time I didn't cry; I couldn't let myself. I simply walked over to her bed and gave her a small and gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Love you, Mum," I smoothed her hair back, and walked over to where Fred and Dumbledore were standing.

"I'm ready now," I said. Dumbledore reached his hand out to me. I took it willingly; I really didn't want to lose it again.

I took one last look at Mum before I had to go back to my real life. The one that involves constantly pretending to be happy.

Reality sucks.

A/N: Sorry if it was short… We've been waiting for the announcement of our musical. We found out today! We're doing GREASE! EEP! I love both the musical and the movie, so I'm really excited. I want the part of Rizzo, so wish me luck. If you've never seen Grease, go watch it NOW!


	17. 16 Thinking of You

"Vi! Time to get up! McGonagall is having a meeting with the students today!" Ginny was hopping around my bed with a huge smile on her face. I've never met anyone so excited to get up before noon. I groaned and placed my pillow over my head.

"Come on, Violet. I don't really want to go either, but it's a mandatory meeting. We could get in trouble if we don't go." Hermione; always the one to worry about trouble.

"Fine. And don't call me Violet," I grumbled as I reluctantly sat up and rubbed my eyes. I sat there for a minute, getting used to the light that was flooding the room thanks to Ginny. I got up sighing and knowing that this is a battle I would lose. I walked over to my trunk to grab an outfit and my robes for later.

It had been a couple of weeks since the whole fiasco with Mum. Fred was the only one that knew, because everyone already had so much going on. Plus, I didn't want people to feel sorry for me; that always makes me feel horrible. I tried my hardest not to distance myself from the others, and I thought I was doing a pretty good job of it given the circumstances. Things just haven't been right since Mum got sick… She was doing the same as she had two weeks before, but I was not allowed to see her after that day. I don't think I could have anyway. I hated seeing her like that. _The least you could do is try to be happy. Mum would hate seeing you like this sad like you have been. Just try. _Those thoughts were the only things that kept me going at all. Well, that and Fred.

After dressing in a bright outfit in an attempt to make myself at least appear happier. I walked toward the door where Ginny and Hermione were waiting for me. I could tell that they knew that something was up, and I was very grateful that neither of them said anything about it.

(See outfit here .com/lets_be_happy/set?id=38391558 )

As soon as we got downstairs, I was engulfed in a bear hug by the twins.

"Guys… It… I… Breath" They finally let me go when they realized that I needed air to live. After a few seconds, when I was able to talk again, I said, "Thanks."

"No problem," They said in unison, smiling down at me. I smiled back and took Fred's hand. No, we weren't going back out. I was like it had been after the World Cup. We were closer than friends, but not quite in a real relationship. The good thing though, is that we were talking and that's all I could really ask for after what I did. "That owl almost looks like Parakeet," Fred said pointing to the owl ring on my finger. I laughed.

"Hey, yeah. It kind of does." I swung our hands as we walked down to the Great Hall where the meeting was being held. I was so glad that nothing was awkward between us anymore.

We must have been the last people that needed to arrive, because as soon as the twins, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and I arrived, McGonagall began to speak. To be honest, I wasn't paying any attention to her. I was staring at my hand that Fred was holding. _Why can't things always be like this? Why does life have to be so screwed up?_

Fred must have noticed me staring, because he grinned down at me; a grin which I gladly returned. We looked at each other for a few seconds longer until I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Ron stood up; I stared after him as he walked off toward McGonagall, trying not to laugh at the look on his face. The tables that were usually in the room, I noticed at that moment, were nowhere to be seen.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley. Now, put your hand on my waist." Ron looked shocked and a little like he could have thrown up.

"Where?" He asked. I think that he thought he had said it quietly, but the whole room heard him and some of us erupted into a fit of laughter.

"My waist, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall replied, grabbing his hand and placing it on her waist. "Good, now…" The music started playing; I don't know how it started, because I couldn't keep my eyes off of Ron, who was starting to dance with McGonagall. "… One, two, three… One, two, three… One, two, three…" At this point, Ron was waltzing around the room with the professor; I don't think I've ever tried to not laugh so hard in my life. I was doing better than Fred and George; they weren't even trying to hold it in. They were dancing without moving their feet; they looked like idiots. Harry beckoned them closer to him.

"You're never gonna let him forget this are you?" Harry asked.

"Never," the twins replied in unison.

After about thirty seconds more of this, McGonagall told everyone to get a partner, because we needed to practice dancing for the ball. _What ball? Wow! I really need to start paying attention when people talk. How are my grades so good?_

In the middle of my internal conversation with myself, Fred appeared in front of me, holding out a hand.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows. This time, I didn't even try not to laugh; what a line!

"You may," I replied, putting my hand in his.

After we had been dancing for about a minute, I realized something. "Hey, you're a good dancer, Fred." He raised his eyebrows at me.

"What were you expecting?" He asked as he twirled me effortlessly around the stone floor.

"I honestly don't know; not this," He chuckled lightly at the look on my face. "Where did you learn to dance like this?" At this, the smile plastered on his face faltered.

"I don't know," he said, avoiding my face and looking at the floor.

"Yes you do!" I poked him in the chest with one hand, my other still around his neck. "Where did you become a master of the arts, Fred Weasley?" He sighed, but I could tell that he was trying not to smile.

"If I tell you, you have to pinky promise that you won't tell anyone ever," I smiled.

"OH! Pinky promise! This must be serious!" We both laughed, but I held out my pinky and entwined it with his.

"He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Mum. I had to practice with both her and Ginny when we were younger," To his surprise, I didn't laugh.

"See, those are the reasons that I always wanted a father or brother. I just have _you_ to teach me." That made him laugh. I was happy. _Maybe thing will be back to normal soon._

"Vi!" Ginny and Hermione came running into our common room as I was staring out the window. "We need to get ready! We only have four hours until the ball!" Today was the day of the Yule Ball; Fred and I were going together as friends. I decided to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday since there was no point in going home if no one would be there. Plus, I was hoping a little fun would get my mind off of things. To be honest, I was even a little excited.

"Okay, make up first?" Both girls nodded. I did make up for both of them and Ginny did mine; Hermione didn't trust herself with a makeup brush anymore more than she trusted herself with a Quidditch broom. I must say, we all looked really good. It made me feel a little better to make an effort to look pretty for once; I hadn't tried very hard to look good since the night that Fred and I broke up.

By the end, I was very happy with my appearance. The three of us had gone to a dress shop in Hogsmeade the week before; Ginny already had a dress, but neither Hermione or I did. Both girls helped me find the perfect dress, and I was pretty happy with how I turned out.

(See Vi's outfit here .com/vi_yule_ball/set?id=38392123 )

When we were finished, we only had a half hour until the ball started, so we took the long way to the Great Hall that no one else was taking; all three of us wanted to make a grand entrance. We held hands as we walked; we were all _really _nervous.

Finally, we got to the big staircase near the entrance at the Hall where we had all told our dates to meet us. Ginny had agreed to go with Neville, because Harry still didn't notice that she was alive. He may have been the 'Boy Who Lived', but I just wanted to smack him upside the head sometimes for being so ignorant. I was glad that he had gotten over me, but I also wanted Ginny to be happy.

Hermione, on the other hand, had continually refused to tell Ginny and I who her date was. She only told us that it wasn't Ron. I had a feeling that _that_ would be a problem.

"Who wants to go first?" I asked, turning toward the other girls; we were all shaking, but they were the quickest to take a step back_. I guess that means I'm up. _"Fine, I'll go. Wish me luck,"

"Good luck," they both whispered as I turned the corner.

I walked slowly, trying my hardest not to fall in my shoes; _I shouldn't have worn heels!_ I suddenly caught Fred's eye; his grin let me know that no matter what happened, it would all be worth it.

Fred's POV

"Come on, Fred! The girls are gonna beat us down there if we don't hurry!" George was becoming extremely impatient with me. I had been in the bathroom for ten minutes. Sure, that wasn't long, but it was a lot longer than my usual two. I wasn't even really doing anything, so I didn't have much of a reason to stay in there any longer. I looked in the mirror once more, sighed, and headed down to the entrance near the Great Hall with George.

After about five minutes of waiting, I had started to become nervous again and started bouncing on the heels of my feet, looking around at everyone else. _None of these girls will have anything on Vi._

"Will you stop hopping? Vi's gonna think you're an idiot!" George said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Just breath," I did as instructed and took a few deep breaths, rubbing my face with the palm of my hand to try and calm myself down.

Just then, George tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up, ready to lash out at him, until I saw something amazing in the corner of my eye. I turned fully around to face Vi.

She looked gorgeous; all done up in purple and silver. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. I almost sighed in relief when she returned my smile as she neared me. I held out my hand to her, and she took it.

"Hey," She said as our hands touch, causing an electric warmth to go through my body. _Is it just me, or does she look just as nervous as I do?_

"Hey," I replied. _Please, please, please don't stutter!_ "Y-you look be-beautiful." _Nice one idiot! _

"Thanks," I was so happy that she didn't giggle when my words nearly got caught in my throat. _Maybe she really is nervous…_

After about five minutes of talking with Vi, George, and his date (Katie Bell), McGonagall started ushering people in. Vi started off toward the Great Hall with everyone else, but I grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"What is it?" Vi asked me, cocking her head to the side and pulling her eyebrows together. _Why does she have to be so cute all the time? It's like she's trying to make me forget how to talk!_

I had come up with a plan of how to give her the gift that I got her, but that was all down the drain as I looked into her eyes. I couldn't wait any longer. "Close your eyes," I whispered; she obeyed.

I took the purple velvet box out of my pocket, and took her right hand in mine. I gently kissed the palm of her hand before placing the box in it. "Open your eyes," I whispered in her ear. She obeyed and gave me a confused look when she looked at the object in her hand.

"What is this?" she whispered, looking between me and the box.

"Open it," I replied. She obeyed, lifting the lid with a shaking hand. I knew that she would love the gift, but I definitely didn't expect the response that she gave me. She gasped, smiled, and then grabbed my face, pulling my lips down to hers. I've never felt a kiss that involved so much love; it was amazing.

"Thanks," she whispered in my ear, admiring the silver, diamond encrusted necklace that was still lying in its place in the box. "Would you put it on me?" she asked. I couldn't find my voice yet (that kiss was mind blowing), so I nodded and took the box from her.

She held her hair up for me, and smiled when I was done. "It's so beautiful. Now I feel bad for not bringing your gift down, though."

"That's okay. It's technically not Christmas yet anyway. I was just too excited to wait." I was so proud that I didn't stutter.

"We should probably hurry up and get in there before McGonagall comes out shouting 'Off with their heads!'." I looked around and noticed that we were the only two still not in the Great Hall. I took her hand, and we walked into the Hall just before the music for the first song started playing. We watched as the champions danced. Soon everyone was joining in, including Vi and I. She was a great dancer and I couldn't have been happier. I had another present for Vi; I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend again. I missed her so much. I was sick of kissing her and knowing that she could go off and do that to anyone. Not that she would; I still hated the option. I didn't want that option for myself either; I wanted to be hers and I wanted her to be mine.

We had been dancing for two hours; it was the best two hours that I had had in a long time, but we were both getting tired; only fast music had been played. We decided to take a punch break. Vi and I were heading toward the punch bowl when I was tapped on the shoulder by none other than Angelina. Gag.

"Hey, Freddy. How about a kiss?" She looked at me hopefully, and I felt this weird sensation go on throughout my body. Like sharp icicles were filling me up.

_NO!_ "'Kay," I replied. _WHAT?_ I leaned down toward Angelina. _NO! What's happening to me?_ I felt like a robot; I couldn't control what was going on around me. Deep down I knew how wrong this was, but I couldn't do anything about it. It was like I was in the middle of a nightmare and I was someone else. I had no more power over this than someone from across the room.

Angelina's lips touched mine. She forced my mouth open and stuck her tongue down my throat. To anyone else it must have looked like we were snogging, but I knew better. _Stop, stop, stop! I don't want this! _No matter how much I wanted to pull away, I couldn't. It was like Angelina and I were glued together and I hated it. I saw something move in my peripheral vision; whatever it was seemed to give me a little more strength against what was happening. _NO!_ I started to push Angelina off of me. _GET!_ A little more… _AWAY!_... more… _FROM!_... just her arms around my neck now… _ME!_ She was off.

I looked up to where I saw something move from the corner of my eye. All I saw was a dash of something purple running out of the Hall. I fully pushed Angelina off of me (she was trying to reattach her arms to my neck) and ran after the figure.

Vi's POV

"Vi! Violet! VI!" I heard Fred shouting after me, but there was no way that I was turning around. I thought that things were getting back to normal. At least a little bit. I wanted so badly to believe that he loved me as much as I loved him; I guess I was wrong.

I didn't even know where my feet were taking me until I ended up right at the edge of the Black Lake; if I would have gone a couple more steps, I would have fallen in. _Okay, I think I lost him._ I sat down in the wet grass, not caring how dirty my dress got, and began to show my feelings the best way I knew how: through song.

Comparisons are easily done

Once you've had a taste of perfection

Like an apple hanging from a tree

I picked the ripest one

I still got the seed

You said move on

Where do I go

I guess second best

Is all I will know

Cause when I'm with him

I am thinking of you

Thinking of you

What you would do if

You were the one

Who was spending the night

Oh I wish that I

Was looking into your eyes

You're like an Indian summer

In the middle of winter

Like a hard candy

With a surprise center

How do I get better

Once I've had the best

You said there's

Tons of fish in the water

So the waters I will test

He kissed my lips

I taste your mouth

He pulled me in

I was disgusted with myself

Cause when I'm with him

I am thinking of you

Thinking of you

What you would do if

You were the one

Who was spending the night

Oh I wish that I

Was looking into...

You're the best

And yes I do regret

How I could let myself

Let you go

Now the lesson's learned

I touched it I was burned

Oh I think you should know

Cause when I'm with him

I am thinking of you

Thinking of you

What you would do if

You were the one

Who was spending the night

Oh I wish that I

Was looking into your eyes

Looking into your eyes

Looking into your eyes

Oh won't you walk through

And bust in the door

And take me away

Oh no more mistakes

Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay...

When I was done, I sat there for about five minutes not knowing what to do. I sobbed enough to make up for the last couple of weeks of the numbness that I'd been feeling. I didn't even realize what I was doing when I picked up a sharp gray rock that sat at my feet. I didn't feel any pain in my wrist until I heard him yell, "VI! STOP!"

A/N: A few things… First, here is the link to Vi's necklace .com/cgi/set?id=38400665 . It seems to have a glitch, but you can still see the necklace, so yeah. There you go.

I'd like to thank Madie from Quizazz for the idea to the end of this chapter. I've been wanting to use this song for a while. I DON'T OWN THE LYRICS TO KATY PERRY'S 'THINKING OF YOU' ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE PROPER OWNERS! Lyrics found here: .

I'm trying my best to improve my writing. I've been reading a LOT of great fanfics on and , and it's pushed me to do better. I may (or may not) redo some of the first chapters because I'm not very satisfied with the past- present tense problems I've had and I don't like writing in past tense like I have been. Thanks so much to my faithful readers!

Also, I want to learn more about getting a beta. If someone could give me an in depth explanation about what a beta is and how to get one, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

~Paige (that me!)


	18. 17 We Go Together

Fred's POV

I heard Vi's heels clicking on the floor as I ran after her; thank Merlin for those, or I would have lost her a long time before I did. I shouted her name, knowing that she would ignore me, but did it anyway. I had no idea what I would say to her, considering I had no idea what had just happened myself. _This makes no sense. How did Angelina do that? How-_

My thoughts were suddenly cut off when I realized that the clicking of Vi's heels had ended. _She must have stopped running._ This knowledge made me run that much faster. I ran for about a minute longer, (_I didn't know that she was that far ahead of me. Those are some loud shoes!_) before I heard her; I heard her before I saw her. She was crying—sobbing is more accurate- and it broke my heart. I stopped running, choosing to tip-toe instead, so that she wouldn't be as likely to hear me. I peered around the corner of an archway that led outside; she was sitting on the edge of the Black Lake. She had her head in her hands and her whole body was shaking with violent sobs as they loudly escaped her mouth. Tears started to well up in my eyes, but then something completely unexpected happened.

Out of Vi's mouth came the most beautiful and heart wrenching song that I had ever heard.

Comparisons are easily done

Once you've had a taste of perfection

Like an apple hanging from a tree

I picked the ripest one

I still got the seed

The tears that had been threatening to spill over my eyes did so. She really thinks I'm perfect? What was left of my heart was pounding so loud in my ears that I didn't hear again until she finished singing what I was assuming was the chorus. The next part that I did hear though, had exactly the same effect on me as the last. I pushed all sound out so that I could hear the rest of the song.

You're like an Indian summer

In the middle of winter

Like a hard candy

With a surprise center

How do I get better

Once I've had the best

You said there's

Tons of fish in the water

So the waters I will test

He kissed my lips

I taste your mouth

He pulled me in

I was disgusted with myself

Cause when I'm with him

I am thinking of you

Thinking of you

What you would do if

You were the one

Who was spending the night

Oh I wish that I

Was looking into...

You're the best

And yes I do regret

How I could let myself

Let you go

Now the lesson's learned

I touched it I was burned

Oh I think you should know

Cause when I'm with him

I am thinking of you

Thinking of you

What you would do if

You were the one

Who was spending the night

Oh I wish that I

Was looking into your eyes

Looking into your eyes

Looking into your eyes

Oh won't you walk through

And bust in the door

And take me away

Oh no more mistakes

Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay...

After she was done, we both resumed letting the tears fall freely from her eyes. She sobbed, but I was determined not to; I didn't want to make her hate me anymore than she already did by hearing me.

The next five minutes went exactly like this: huge, noisy sobs would escape her mouth and I would answer with my silent (but just as powerful) tears. I didn't think that anything could make me feel any worse; oh how wrong I was…

Vi, with a movement that was almost robotic, picked up a small (but sharp) gray rock that had been lying near her right foot. It looked harmless, until she brought it up to her wrist. I couldn't speak fast enough; my words seemed to get caught in my throat. _Please Vi, no!_ _Don't do it! _But she did. The last thing I saw before I shouted was a thin and fast growing red ribbon sprout across the wrist of the person I loved more than anyone in the world. I finally found my voice.

"VI! STOP!" And I ran over to her.

Vi's POV

I whipped around to see Fred; the only thing stopping my hand flying to my heart was the pain that I now felt surging through my wrist. I looked down quickly and noticed that I was bleeding profusely a decent sized puddle pooling onto my dress. I looked up into Fred's face; he was now cradling me in his arms, tears streaming down his face

"Fred?" I asked in something that could barely be called a whisper. I was starting to get really light headed, Fred being the only thing that was holding me up.

"I'm right here, Love," Fred whispered through the sobs that he could no longer hold back.

"Stay with me," I whimpered. I felt his strong, muscular arms tighten around me.

"Forever," he replied simply. That was when I blacked out…

"Vi, can you hear me? I need you. Don't leave." These were the first words I heard when I woke up. I tried to open my eyes or move my hands or arms. For some reason, I couldn't; it was as if a thousand pound steel weight was holding me under the water. I was finding it hard to breathe when I noticed that I was being strapped up by something; thick plastic tubes were snaking their way up both of my arms. But they weren't nearly as uncomfortable as the searing pain that was radiating through my left wrist. I would have whimpered or cried out, but I couldn't make any noise either.

"How long has she been under?" Someone asked; I was pretty sure it was Hermione.

"Since nine last night," Fred answered numbly.

"Sixteen hours? And you've been here all this time?" Ginny asked, sounding rather surprised.

"I'm not leaving her. Not for anything," Fred said with a passion that I had missed through the time that we had been apart.

"So, you're just gonna sit here until she wakes up?" Ginny asked, with a tone that said that she didn't know her brother had such a big heart. If I could have, I would have laughed at the surprise in her voice.

"Like I said, I'm not leaving her. This is my fault," That was when my eyes shot open_. How can he think this is his fault?_

"Vi!"everyone shouted. They all stepped slightly closer to me, everyone except Fred. He shot up and kneeled down beside me, getting as close to me as possible and hugging me. Luckily, it wasn't his normal bone-crushing trademark Weasley hug. It was gentle as if he was afraid he would hurt me. _This; this is why I love him._

"How are you?" Harry asked. I looked around; most of the Gryffindors were in here A few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws as well. I smiled, but winced as I felt the pain in my wrist. Fred was the only one who seemed to notice; his grip on me loosened, but only barely.

"I'm fine," I lied. I could tell that no one believed me, but no one really said anything about it. "How are—" Madame Pomfrey came bustling into the room. She had a lime green, almost chartreuse, potion in her hand. I gulped; she was walking toward me with a gleam in her eye.

"Out of the way! Come on, excuse me! Ah, Ms. Ashton; I hope you're feeling better." I nodded, but to tell you the truth, I felt worse. You can't really know how you're feeling when you're asleep right?

"Good. Now everybody needs to get out now. Ms. Ashton, you need to drink this. Just down it, you don't want it to linger in your mouth. Trust me," Madame Pomfrey said as she handed me my medicine and set a glass of water on the end table next to my bed. Before I could chug the potion down though, something happened that I was actually quite surprised about.

"Madame Pomfrey, would you mind if I stayed with her for a while?" Fred didn't even turn his face away from mine. He just knelt there with a worried expression on his face. Madame Pomfrey looked like she might have been about to protest, but I cut her off before she could.

"Please?" I asked. I really just needed him with me. I meant what I said before I passed out; I needed him with me always.

"Fine," she huffed as she ushered everyone out. She turned to me before walking back into her office. "I have a few letters that I need to send out. Mr. Weasley, make sure she drinks that potion!" Fred nodded, and Madame Pomfrey marched back into her office, closing the door behind her. As soon as she did this, Fred spoke.

"You heard the woman; drink!" He ordered, pointing to the potion that was still in my hand. I felt the need to be sarcastic and say "Yes Sir!", but I avoided it; this was too delicate of a situation. Instead I just nodded and chugged it down. I was glad I did; it was horrible. I had to physically stop myself from spitting it all over Fred's face. After I finished it; I cringed.

"Water," I managed to choke out, pointing to the glass that Madame Pomfrey had set on the end table next to the bed. Fred, chuckled lightly, but the expression of worry and guilt didn't leave his face. _Why does he look guilty? This is all my fault. _

After I was done with the water (I had chugged it all down in about ten seconds; never drink a chartreuse potion!) I held the glass in my hands and just stared at it; I felt so guilty. I didn't want to hurt him. Hurt myself, sure. Just not him.

"I don't know what to say," I finally admitted.

"Neither do I," he said. We had been sitting like that for about five minutes, so I was startled when he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Why did you do it?" he whispered with hurt in his voice. It took me a minute to answer, but I finally did.

"I didn't really want to; I just wanted to feel Something' anything. Feeling numb is tiring; feeling the way I have felt for the last couple of months is about a hundred times worse than that," I said honestly. He squeezed my hand once again and looked deep into my eyes. I took it as a sign to continue. "When we broke up, I began lying to myself; telling myself that I was fine. None of that is true, of course. My life has been changed because of you. I pray every night that this is all a dream; that I'll wake up, and you'll be there, and you'll need me just as much as I need you. I even wrote a song—"

"The one you were singing down by the lake?" I felt my cheeks get hot as he said that. I looked back down at my cup.

"Yeah," was my brilliant reply.

"It was beautiful. I knew you could sing, but that was amazing." He stroked my hand with his thumb for a few more seconds before continuing.

"I meant it," I whispered. I looked back up into his eyes. "I really don't know where I would be without you. I need you. I know that's really selfish—" I was cut off when he grabbed my cheeks and gently pushed his lips up against mine. It was the sweetest kiss I could ever have imagined. I tried to pull my arms up to put around his neck, but then remembered the several IV's I had hooked up to me. I winced slightly, making Fred pull back.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

"Yes, I'm fine; why did you stop?" I pouted, he chuckled, before leaning in again, I settled for putting my hands around his back. _If only he was the height of a normal human…_

After a couple minutes, we pulled away and just held each other as close as was possible. Both of us had goofy grins on our faces.

"I love you, and I'm hoping you'll be willing to give me a second chance." He whispered, stroking my cheek. I couldn't really speak; I was so happy! I settled for nodding instead. He kissed me again; I couldn't help but sigh in contentment; he did the same. We sat there for a few more minutes before he spoke again.

"You know, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to show off my mad dancing skills to a slow song last night. Would you care to dance?" he asked, standing up and holding out a hand. I raised both of my eyebrows; I knew it would ruin the moment if I even attempted to raise just one.

"I'd love to, but how?" I asked, gesturing to the tubes that were sticking out of my arms.

"Allow me," he replied. He gently grabbed each of the IV's and slung them on the rack holding my bags of medicine. He dragged the rack closer to bed. He lifted me up bridal style in one arm, and held the rack in the other. He carried the both of us (the rack and I) to the center of the room. He started humming quietly, so as not to disturb Madame Pomfrey, and swung us all around in slow circles. I laughed when I recognized the tune; it was 'We Go Together' from _Grease_, but about three times slower. Another one of my favorites; he really knew me well. I sighed again and he chuckled. When he was done with his song, I decided that it was my turn. I started singing 'Thinking of You' making us both cry, but I managed to get through it. When I was done, he pulled me into yet another take-my-breath-away type kiss. Then he slowly walked back over to the bed and gently set me in it. He tried to sit back into the chair, but I had a good hold on his wrist.

"And just where do you think you're going Mister?" I asked, he smiled, but shook his head.

"There's no room, and Madame Pomfrey will kill us if she sees," he tried, but I shook my head.

"I don't care…" He tried sitting down again. "Please?" I asked, putting on my best puppy dog face. I scooted to the right slightly so there was room, and patted the now empty spot next to me with my free hand. He sighed in defeat and lay down beside me. We both lay on our sides so that we were facing one another. I had a big smile plastered on my face.

"I win," I said. He chuckled.

"You always win," He said, but started stroking my cheek.

"I know," I smiled, and he kissed me. _Merlin, how I missed this!_

"Merry Christmas, Fred. I love you." I said, trying not to yawn; I think he noticed.

"Merry Christmas, Vi. I love you; more than anything. Now try and get some sleep," he said, moving a strand of hair out of my face. I did the same to him.

"'Kay," I sighed as he kissed me again.

Despite all the pain I was in, that was the best sleep I had gotten in months.

A/N: Whew! I rewrote most of this chapter, because I didn't want Vi to be one of those people who makes stupid excuses for hurting herself; I wanted it to sound real. I hope that came across. Either way, let me know what ya thought! Over 400 readers and about twenty reviews all together! Please keep 'em coming! I would love you so, so, so much if you took a few seconds to review!

I'm working on a list of things that have inspired me throughout the process of writing this story. I'm planning on posting it after the last chapter, so I don't know when. It's mostly songs. If you haven't noticed already, most of the chapter titles (and story title) are song names. Music is a HUGE part of my life, so it only makes sense. The title for this particular chapter is because my schools musical this year is _Grease_. I'm gonna try out for Rizzo; wish me luck.

Once again, I DON'T OWN THE LYRICS TO KATY PERRY'S 'THINKING OF YOU'! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR PROPER OWNERS! Lyrics found at… .

I really would enjoy it if someone would explain to me what a beta is and how to get one BTW… thanks! :D

Toodles for now! Thanks for reading!

~Paige


	19. 18 The Second Task

"Fred… Fred, stop. FRED! I gotta go change and get to the library!" I said, quite unwillingly, as Fred was kissing down my neck. I was trying my best not to show any signs of wanting to stay as he did this. Of course I really wanted to stay, but I had to go help Harry. He lied to us; he hadn't really figured out the whole deal with the golden egg that he had collected from the dragon. Of course Hermione, Ron, and I, being the awesome friends that we were (and still are), offered to help him figure out the rest of the puzzle. At that moment, I regretted it. A lot.

"Why?" Fred whined, trying to gain more of a grip onto my waist as I reluctantly got out of his lap and stood up.

"Well, mainly because I really don't want Harry to die." He nodded and smiled. "I'll try to hurry." I said before giving him on last peck on the lips.

"I'll hold you to it!" I heard as I jogged up to my dorm. I quickly got changed and ran to the library; if I didn't hurry, I was going to be late.

(Click here to see Vi's outfit .com/library/set?id=38793112 )

"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late," I whispered walking up to my very tired looking friends. "What di—" Just as I was about to ask what I had missed, someone behind us began to speak.

"Hate to break up the skull session." I turned around to see who was speaking. Professor Moody was standing behind me, his one eyeball looking around at the speed of light, while the other stared menacingly at the four of us. _I wonder what's bothering him. _Professor McGonagall would like to see you in her office." We all began to stand up. "Not you, boys, just Ashton and Granger.

"But Sir," Hermione began. "The second task is only hours away and—" She was soon cut off by a very snippy Mad-Eye.

"Exactly. Presumably Potter is well prepared by now and could do with a good night's sleep. Go. NOW!" _WOW! What's up with him?_ Hermione stormed off, pulling me along with her.

"Wow," I say once we get out of the library. "I mean, he's normally a little cranky, but wow." Then I remembered what he had told us. "I wonder what McGonagall wants.

"No idea," Hermione replied, her hands across her chest as she and I stalked down the hall; we were almost to McGonagall's office.

"I guess we're about to find out," I said as we knocked on the door to the office. We heard a faint "You may come in," and entered the office.

"Sit," McGonagall said, gesturing to the two unoccupied chairs; in the other two sat a girl I recognized as Cho Chang (I knew who she was, but had never really spoken to her), and a little blond girl that looked an awful lot like Fleur. We nodded to everyone and sat down.

"Now, none of you have any idea why you were brought here tonight, I presume?" We all shook our heads and McGonagall nodded. "Well, you four were chosen to be a part of the second task. Each of you is a treasure to one of the champions. We need each of you to become their _lost_ treasure." I gulped; this didn't sound like it was going to be much fun. McGonagall must have noticed, because she began to reassure all of us. "Not to worry; you will all be perfectly safe. You won't feel a thing; you will just feel as though you have woken up from a long nap. It'll be refreshing, really." I somehow doubted that, but nodded. What choice did I have really? "Everyone? Good. Now, follow me."

_ Wait. Treasures? We're the treasures… Cho to Cedric (obvious). That little girl must be Fleur's sister, so Little Girl to Fleur. Viktor can't be for me and he was Hermione's date to the ball, so Hermione to Viktor. That's leave Harry to—Oh, no. I thought he was over me…_

We all followed McGonagall into her office. Four twin beds were set up, calling our names. "Each of you simply needs to take one of these potions, but you may want to sit on the beds first."

Each of us nodded and grabbed a small vial of the magenta-red colored potion from the professor's hand. I walked over and sat on the edge of an empty bed. As soon as I took the potion, I wished that I had been sitting all the way on the bed; the effect that the potion had on my body was close to instant. My eyesight quickly got blurry and I felt as though I was going to collapse. I had just enough strength to scramble the rest of the way onto the bed before I fell into nothingness.

Fred's POV

"Bets! Place your bets here! Come on, don't be shy!" George and I shouted as students made their way to the huge stadium that was now surrounding the Black Lake. Once again, George and I were taking bets on who would win the coming task. Only this time, something was different; Vi wasn't here helping us. I hadn't seen her (or Hermione for that matter) since the night before and had become worried. _What if something happened to them? Was it both of them? Just Vi?_ All I knew at that point was that I wanted to go look for Vi. Again, there was a problem; George refused to let me go find her "She'll be fine. He said. I'll bet you anything she'll be there when we get down to the stadium. She might have been asked to help with the task," he told me. All I knew was that George would pay if he wasn't right and wouldn't let me go find her. _Where are you, Vi?_

Vi's POV

I was wet. Wet and freezing. I didn't know where I was; I couldn't open my eyes, or even move. It was as if I was in between sleeping and waking up. All I knew was that I needed to somehow get out of there. I needed Fred; I had forgotten, until that moment that I had promised the twins that I would help them take bets for the task. _They need me. Crap! I need to get out of here… wherever here is and find them! _

I faintly heard a noise; like it was coming from a faraway tunnel. It sounded like a cannon going off. _Where are you, Fred?_

Harry's POV

"You're sure about this, Neville?" I asked; I was really nervous that the nasty green goop in my hand wasn't going to stay effective for an hour.

"Absolutely," Neville replied, looking like he didn't really believe himself.

"For an hour?" I asked just to make sure I could trust my life with this stuff; gillyweed, Neville had called it.

"Most likely," he said. I turned to him.

"Most likely?" I asked. _This is unbelievable._

"Well, there is some debate among herbologists as to the effects of freshwater versus saltwater—"

"You're telling me this now?" _Unbelievable! _"You must be joking!"

"I just wanted to help," Neville muttered. I immediately felt awful for the way that I had spoken to him. The next thing that I said was also true, though.

"Well, it makes you a right sight better than Vi and Hermione. Where are they anyway?" I asked no one in particular as I stretched my arms.

"You seem a little tense, Harry_," Really?_

"Do I?" I asked as we came to the end of the dock we had been walking on to get to the lake; almost time for the 'show'.

"Welcome to the second task," Dumbledore began; we all shut up and began listening to the headmaster as he continued.

"Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions; a treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake." _Treasures… four… Hermione and Vi are missing… Oh, no-_

I was soon sprung out of my thoughts, when Professor Moody came up to me and said, "Put that in your mouth." Before I could answer, he was helping me. The stuff was horrible; it tasted like a mouthful of salt. I started gagging and tried to spit it back out, but Moody hit head hard on the back, causing me to swallow in one disgusting gulp. My throat started to burn horribly, but suddenly, a cannon went off nearby, making me jump. Before I had time to fully react to it, however, I was being thrust into a sharp, cold abyss; the Black Lake.

As soon as I broke the surface, I started struggling and gasping for the air that had been knocked out of me as I was being pushed into the lake. Thankfully it didn't take long to find; at the base of my neck on both sides, I had grown gills. I looked down at my hands and feet and noticed that they had been modified as well; webs had grown between all of my fingers and toes. I broke the surface of the water to let everyone know that I was okay, and then started swimming. I had to find Vi.

Fred's POV

Harry had come up to the surface of the water; at least he was okay. _Where is Vi, though? Wait! Treasures… four treasures… four champions… Vi and Hermione are missing. Could it be? No…_

"Ron, George, neither one of you have seen Vi or Hermione since last night, right?" They both told me that they hadn't, so I asked, "Do you think that they could be the treasures that Dumbledore was talking about?" They both thought about it for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"It would definitely make sense," George said while Ron nodded in agreement. I sighed.

"That's what I was afraid of."

Harry's POV

About ten minutes (at least I think it was about ten minutes) into my swim, I heard singing. Mermaids singing to be exact; it was the song that had come out of my egg when I put it under water. As I get closer to the voices, I notice Fleur struggling with some Grindylows, before I can help, however, she broke the surface of the water, and was gone.

Finally, I found four bodies floating in the water, each with a thick rope tied to one of their legs. A small blond girl, Cho Chang , Hermione, and Vi. I quickly swam over to Vi's body and cupped her face in my hands. She was ice-cold and appeared to be dead; they all did. There was no way though; I knew that she had to be asleep. I looked at the rope that is tied to her foot. _How am I going to get _that_ off of her? _

Suddenly, Cedric swam up and cast a spell at Cho's rope with his wand. He noticed me, and pointed to his wand_. He must really feel guilty about the dragons…_ I nodded anyway in thanks before he began swimming quickly toward the surface. I went over to Hermione to try to get her untied as quickly as possible; that was a mistake. I was quickly cornered by five or six terrifying mermaids; they were not nearly as pretty as the one in the stained glass window in the prefect's bathroom. They soon had me pinned in place using their pitchforks.

"But she's my friend too!" I tried to protest, but to no avail.

"Only one!" they hissed, one prodding me in the throat with a pitchfork until—

All of a sudden, everything stopped and I was freed; it didn't take me long to figure out why either. Coming at my face was a shark. At least that was what it looked like at first. It had human legs; Viktor. In no time, he had Hermione out of her restraints and was at the surface. Fleur was nowhere to be found. _She must have been disqualified._ I looked over at the small girl. The task had to be close to over… I didn't give it a second thought as I moved over to the small girl; I couldn't _not_ save her.

I cast the spell as fast as possible. Viktor had been pretty effective with the mermaids, so I had no problems with them after that. Thinking we were safe now, I moved over to Vi and shot the restraints off of her as well.

Right as I was about to push off and swim toward the surface with the girls, I was attacked. _Grindylows…_ They had quickly dragged me under… the light was fading… I was running out of breath… I was going to die.

Vi's POV

As I hit the surface of the water, my eyes popped open and I let in a huge breath. I felt as if my eyes had been shut for months, but it definitely wasn't as McGonagall said that it would be. I looked all around; I was in the middle of the Black Lake with the little blond girl that looked like a little Fleur. I swam as quickly and effectively as I could with the small girl next to me, and in about a minute, Fleur and Fred were reeling us in and placing us on a platform with the other champions and 'treasures'. I was still coughing and shivering when Fred placed a towel around me and set me gently against his chest on the dock. He was rocking me back and forth against him when he whispered in my ear, "Never _ever_ do that to me again," over and over again. He looked at me with concern written all over his face. I leaned up with all the strength I had in me, and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"I'm fine," I whispered, smiling. He smiled back, hugging me.

"You'd better be." He was leaning in to give me another kiss, when Harry popped up out of the water and onto the dock. I jumped up along with Hermione, and we ran over to him. Once I reached him, I noticed that he was shivering pretty violently.

"Go get him a towel!" I ordered someone that I had never seen before in my life. _Sorry! _I began looking around for Hermione, and see that she was still pushing her way through the crowd. I mentally rolled my eyes as Professor Dumbledore to speak.

"I want all the judges over here right now," He said, beckoning to the people around him.

Suddenly, Fleur came up to Harry and I, arms spread out as if to give us a bear hug. "You zaved 'er even zoe she waz not yourz to zave! My leettle zizter! Thank you!" She said, grabbing Harry's face and kissing each side, making him blush. I laughed a little at that . _Well, that woke him up!_ She then turned my way. "And you! You 'elped!" She screamed, running up to give me a hug.

"A bit," I admitted, laughing quietly.

"Thank you," she exclaimed, giving me one more quick hug.

"No. It was my pleasure." _Seriously, why do all the girls hate her? She's nice _I thought as I notice that Hermione had made her way over to us; we then both turned to Harry.

"Harry!" We shouted at the same time. After a few seconds of blinking back in surprise, he looked at us and answered.

"Vi! Hermione!" He yelled in our faces with just as much enthusiasm.

"Are you sure you're all right?" I asked in a concerned voice. "You must be freezing!" I exclaimed as I tried to wrap the towel draped around him more tightly without making things awkward.

"Personally, I think you behaved admirably," Hermione says. I just stare at her. _Behaved admirably? Seriously, who talks like that?_ I thought, shaking my head and turning my attention back to Harry.

"I finished last, Hermione," he replied, looking a little guilty. I felt bad for him; he had worked so hard. Hermione kissed the top of his head, much to Harry's disgust.

"Next to last," Hermione replied, making both Harry's and my face brighten slightly. "Fleur never got past the Grindylows!" I was overjoyed and made a 'whoop' sound really loudly. Everyone within earshot looked at me weirdly.

"Oh, go back to your knitting!" I shouted. They all rolled their eyes, returning to what they were doing, and I gave Harry a _huge_ hug. I faintly heard Dumbledore call everyone to attention, but was too busy hugging Harry to care. That was, at least, until Dumbledore brought his wand to his throat.

"ATTENTION!" He yelled. Everyone covered their ears. _Why don't I use the microphone- wand thing more often?_ "The winner is… MR. DIGGORY!" Cedric's fans clapped and cheered; I clapped faintly. The guy seemed nice, but he had put Harry through hell up until right before the first task, and I was still mad at him for it. For a second, I had forgotten that Dumbledore was giving a speech; I turned my attention back to him. "… who showed innate command of the Bubble-Head charm. However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Ms. Ashton but the others as well, we've agreed to award him second place!" I smiled and 'whooped' again.

"Second place!" Hermione shouted at him; Harry was grinning bigger than I had seen in months.

"Well done!" I said, hugging him once more, before Fred came up and I went over to him.

"…for outstanding moral fiber!" Dumbledore finished, we all laughed lightly and started heading back to the castle. The last thing I saw before walking away was Karkaroff – the Durmstrang headmaster—throwing a tantrum. I grinned.

_Yes!_ The second task was finally out of the way, and I was safely, once again, wrapped in Fred's arms. We were just walking up to the castle when the twins started to get over the shock of what had just happened and loosen up. George was the first to speak, but Fred quickly followed. Even Ron joined in; it was quite funny.

"All that moral fiber, eh?" George began.

"That's great." Fred exclaimed.

"Moral fiber? Blimey! Even when you go wrong, it turns out right." We all laughed at this.

"Yeah. Well done, Moral Fiber," Fred said, but was soon cut off from continuing by Mr. Crouch.

"Congratulations Potter," Crouch said, looking quite pleased. Whether with Harry or himself, I couldn't tell. "A fine achievement."

"Thank you," Harry replied politely.

"Well done, boy," Crouch said, patting Harry. "I was wondering if I might have a word,"

"Of course, sir," Harry said smiling. The rest of us started to walk off when Harry spoke again. "I just need to speak to someone else for a moment. Vi? Vi, can I talk to you for a minute?"

I tried my best to keep a straight face, but I knew that I failed miserably. My eyes widened and my voice was cracking when I answered, "Of course, Harry." Fred must have noticed this, because the firm grip that he had on my waist tightened slightly. I pecked him on the lips quickly in attempt to reassure him that I would be fine with Harry. He nodded (only enough so that I would notice), we both smiled, and I shakily made my way toward where Harry stood waiting for me_. Please don't be awkward… PLEASE don't be awkward…_

"See you at Hagrid's, Harry!" Ron called quickly, before we slipped out of earshot and out of sight.

We walked for about five minutes until we were only a few paces from the greenhouses; out of sight from anyone. _Oh no._

"So, Harry. What was it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked, trying my hardest to sound nonchalant; like one of my best friends wasn't in love with me and understood that I could never feel _that_ way about him.

"Okay. I'm just gonna say it. I love you, Vi. Now, I know that you don't feel the same way; I respect that. I regret what I did, and I'm so sorry that I broke you and Fred up. You didn't deserve that, and I never meant to hurt you. Or Fred for that matter... I don't want to ruin our friendship, so I'm not going to try to make a move again. I don't want to hurt either—

I cut him off with a hug.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, _thank_ you! I don't want to lose you, Harry! That's the last thing that I want for us!" I said, telling the complete truth.

He smiled, hugging me tighter and said, "I don't want to lose you either, Vi. I promise not to let that happen."

I pulled away and smiled up at him. "I promise too." We both laughed. "I guess I'll go find the others. I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

"Yeah, I should go find Mr. Crouch and see what it was that he wanted." I nodded and began to walk away when Harry called after me, "Hey Vi?"

I turned around quickly. "Yeah?"

"Um… Why is it that Fred hasn't tried to choke me in my sleep?" I had to smile at his expression; it was a strange combination of fright, amusement, and confusion.

"I think mainly because he knows I would kill him if he did, but also because he knows how good of a friend you are to not only me, but him as well… Oh. And knowing Fred, if he choked you, he would wait 'til you're awake; you can't really feel the pain if you're sleeping." This made him laugh; I was glad for that.

"Love you, Vi."

"Love you too, Harry."

And with that, I walked up to the castle, towards the love of my life that was waiting for in the castle me with open arms.

**A/N: First off, and most importantly, I would like to dedicate this chapter (and all of my future stories) to my mom. She passed away at 10:50 pm on Sunday, November 6, 2011. She was not only my mom but my best friend. She taught me so much and I never got to tell her that I want to be a writer. I love you Mom and I know that you are in Heaven reading over my shoulder as I am typing this. No matter how many times that I messed up, you always gave me another chance. I love you; you will be missed but not forgotten. 3 3 3**

**I am hoping to have the new story (well, at least the first chapter) posted on both sites by the end of next week. Thank you for the patience; it is appreciated!**

**I used to actual scenes and lines from the movie with this chapter. Did you like that, or did it feel too much like you were just watching the movie again? Let me know!**

**I know that the scene with Neville and Harry was kind of unnecessary, but I love it in the movie, so I had to include it!**

**I feel like there was something else that needs to be said, but I don't know what... Message me if ya have any questions!**

**~Paige 3**


	20. 19 I Know It's Not Much

"Okay, so let me get this straight… You just turned the corner and he was there… dead?" Harry nodded. He had been telling us what had happened when he had been in the forest with Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron. Luckily, we were the only seven (Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and I) left in the common room. Apparently Harry had been walking a short distance away from the other three, in the Forbidden Forest of all places, when he turned a corner, and saw Mr. Crouch's body lying on top of the foliage of the forest; he had been gone before anybody could help him.

"Wow," Ron and Hermione said, even though they had probably already heard the story, at the exact same time. _When are they going to realize that they would be perfect for each other? _ Both of them looked at each other quickly, and then turned away awkwardly. They did, however, look very calm.

"Okay, so then what happened?" I asked, still in shock that Mr. Crouch was dead. I looked over at the twins to see that both of their mouths were hanging open. _At least I'm not the only one…_ _Hermione and Ron just must be more used to these types of things than the rest of us._

"Well, Hagrid heard me when I panicked and sent me to see Professor Dumbledore. When I got to his office, I heard him talking to Moody and Mr. Fudge. Dumbledore and Fudge were arguing about whether or not to cancel the tournament. Fudge refuses because he doesn't want to be seen as a coward."

"But we all know that that is exactly what he is! We need to be doing what is smart here; we can't cover up for him!" I protested, trying to stand up, and almost succeeding. Fred grabbed me by the waist and set me back down beside him, rubbing my back comfortingly. I really wasn't sure what had gotten into me. I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed loudly, blowing some hair out of my face in the process.

"Anyway…" Harry continued after my little outburst. He continued to tell us about the Pensieve and what he had seen in it. He also told us about the dreams he had been having;

"So, Mr. Crouch's son-" George started to say.

"Deatheater," Harry confirmed. I had a feeling that Harry may have already known this, but I really wasn't in the mood to deal with it at that point.

"Wow." That time, it was Fred and George who spoke in unison. Normally, that made me smile, but this was different; I was seriously starting to get scared.

"Yeah. That's not all though." Harry then began to tell us about meeting Snape and Karkaroff on the way back to the common room to tell us all everything that had already happened. I was, yet again, very angry and, to be honest, starting to get more than a little panicky. I did my best, however, to keep my cool (well, what was left of it); I did a pretty good job of it. Taking long, deep breaths, I stood up and announced, "I'm going to bed." I stood up, and started power walking up the stairs, until I heard a voice behind me.

"Vi, wait!" Fred called, looking up at me from the bottom of the stairs up to the girls dorms. "Can we talk for a minute, please?" I thought about it for a second, but nodded and took his hand. _This is Fred we're talking about._ We walked out of the common room, careful not to be caught, and sat down quietly by the lake. I sat in between his legs, my head resting on his chest; we sat behind the big willow tree so that it was less likely that we would be seen. Fred began stroking my cheek with the back of his hand, and my rapid breathing and heartbeat began to slow to a more comfortable pace.

"Are you okay?" That question was hard to answer; there were so many things going on in my life at the time that made it anything but okay. I was sick of being happy for a little while, then having it ripped to shreds. But now, I was with Fred; in his arms… safe. I decided to answer it in the perspective of how I felt at that moment.

"Yeah," This must have caught him by surprise; he must not have believed me.

"It didn't seem like you were okay a minute ago," Fred said turning me around to face him; I was looking down at my hands which were placed in my lap.

I looked up at him and, as sincerely as ever said, "Now I'm with you though."

He grinned (my favorite smile in the world), and sounded amused as he said, "I was with you when we were all together and talking too, you know,"

I smiled right back when I said, "I like it better when it's just you and me. I feel safe." I admitted.

His grin got even bigger (if that were even possible), and he kissed me. It was the sweetest, yet strongest kiss he had ever given me. It was perfect; that's all there was to it. Every time I was with him, I felt safe, protected; he was the only person that always managed to make me feel beautiful and special. When we kissed like this, I wasn't worried about Angelina, Harry, or even Malfoy. There was just Fred and I. We were meant to be together forever. I knew it; even then.

We kissed (well, snogged) for about five more minutes before we had to break apart for air. We both grinned like complete idiots when we were finished, and pressed our foreheads together.

"I love you," I whispered, once my breathing returned to normal once again.

"Right back at you," he whispered, kissing the top of my head. "Hey, how about we do something tomorrow. Just you and me?"

I looked into his eyes as I said "Wouldn't miss it." We both leaned in and kissed one more time, before getting up and heading back up to the common room.

The next morning- Sunday- I smiled, remembering what Fred and I had planned. I looked over at my watch (the one that Fred had given me) that was lying on my bedside table and noticed that it was 10:30; I had one hour until my date with Fred. I looked around and noticed that I was the only person left in the common room. _I guess I'm just lucky that Ginny and Hermione haven't woken me up yet…_

It had taken me about fifteen minutes to pick out an outfit, but luckily I had found the perfect one. As it was starting to get a bit warm out again, I picked out a short dress (well, a short-for-me dress) I put my hair up in a side braid and did my makeup. By the time I was done, I only had five minutes until I was supposed to be down by the lake, so I decided to walk down there.

See Vi's outfit here (.com/your_song/set?id=39481400 )

As I was walking down to the lake, I saw something that made me more amused than I had been in quite a while. Angelina (yes, the one who tried to steal Fred away from me), and Malfoy (yes, the one who had had a crush on me since I met him) snogging in the middle of the hallway. _Figures a girl like her would go after a boy like him…_ I waited until I thought that they were out of earshot before I started cracking up. I was holding my sides and trying heard to catch my breath by the time I got to the lake; Fred was standing there, by the willow tree from the day before, on a blanket, a picnic basket lying at his feet. He raised an eyebrow when he saw me and said, "What's so funny, Love?"

It took me about another minute until I gained enough control to speak again. All I managed to get out, though, was "M-Malfoy… Ange-gelina…_snogging_!" Fred's mouth made a little 'O' and then, like me, he began cracking up. We were both hanging onto each other for support for about five minutes, trying not to fall over from laughing so hard.

After we had calmed down enough, Fred gave me a soft peck and said, "You look beautiful."

_Aw! Such a charmer!_ I smiled and said "Well, so do you!" He grinned, grabbed my waist and gave me another kiss. When he was done, he said, "I made us some lunch; I figured that you probably haven't eaten yet." _He knows me too well!_

"Well Mr. Weasley, you figured right," I replied, pecking him once more on the lips and sitting down next to him on the checkered blanket that he had laid out as he dug through the basket that was sitting next to him.

"I made this just for you," Fred said as he handed me a turkey sandwich. He smiled and I grinned; _I know better._

"Don't you mean that you stole this from the kitchen?" I asked, laughing at the look on his face; _I knew it._

"The house elves were more than willing to give me some food," he replied, throwing his hands up in defense. "Seriously, they love making food for us."

"Boy, you're lucky you're dating me and not Hermione; she'd rip your head off" I said, ruffling his hair.

He smiled through a mouthful of sandwich, but swallowed before saying, "I honestly couldn't imagine being with Hermione; I just want you," He gave me a kiss on the cheek, causing me to blush, I tried to hide behind my hair, but Fred stopped me, pushing it gently out of my face.

"Don't hide. I love you. You're adorable; perfect actually. That's the other reason that I brought you here today, Vi," Fred said, setting his sandwich down, and taking my hands. He looked deep into my eyes, and began to speak once again.

"Well, where do I begin?" Fred said, sounding a little nervous. _What is he up to?_ "You are amazing. Not only are you the perfect girlfriend, you're the perfect best friend; I can tell you anything and I know that you'll listen. I know that you'll never let me down. You already have my heart… you know that right?" I nodded, - _I think I know what he's doing_- tears began to well up in my eyes. Oddly, that seemed to give Fred the boost that he needed to speak with more confidence. "Good. I need you; that sounds really selfish, but I honestly don't know what I would do without you in my life. When we were apart- even for such a short amount of time- I knew that I had made the biggest mistake of my life; I should have fought for you… I'm rambling now, aren't I?" By this point, the tears that had been in my eyes were flowing freely down my face, but nodded slightly. "Okay, I'll just cut to the chase; I want you to marry me Vi. Now, I don't have a ring right now, but believe me, when I have enough money, I'll buy you one; a beautiful one… one that you deserve. I'll buy us a house someday. Any house you want… I know I don't have much, but what I do have-" I didn't let him continue. I kissed him, my eyes still wet with tears, which he kissed away, grinning. "-is yours," he finished. He pressed his forehead to mine, and we just stared at one another for a moment.

"So…" He said, still grinning at me. "…is that a yes, then?"

I giggled a little, but nodded before kissing him again. "Of course," I whispered after we were done. We hugged tightly as he stroked, and repeatedly brushed, my hair. "I love you, Fred," I said as I looked into his amazing, soul searing green eyes.

"I love you, Vi."

That was the moment that I realized just how lucky I was. No matter what had happened in the past, we were happy. As long as we had each other, we always would be.

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. I honestly didn't know what would happen… sometimes character truly do have their own minds. I'm so sorry that the new story isn't out yet. I promise to work more on it ASAP. I think I'll do a little before I go to bed. **

**Thanks, as always, for reading. Also, please make my day and take a few seconds to leave a comment of private message me if you have any ideas for the story. Love you guys! Thanks!**


	21. 20 The Third Task

"Vi! Hey, come on it's the big day! The final task!" Ginny sang, shaking me, but also jumping around like a mad woman at the same time. I groaned, but I wasn't going to throw a fit. It was the day that Fred and I had decided to tell everyone about us being engaged. We figured that since his parents were coming to the school for the task, that it would be the perfect opportunity. We had decided that when the task was over and everyone was celebrating, we'd tell them together.

My only wish was that Mum could have been there as well. I had been thinking about her a lot lately, sad (depressed, really) that I couldn't go see her. Just be with her. My friends and Fred were the only things keeping me sane.

Still, I jumped out of bed and Ginny and Hermione both stared at me, shocked.

"What?" I asked, innocently and as if me being up (willingly) before nine in the morning was a perfectly normal thing.

"Nothing," they said in unison, giving me suspicious looks. I could tell that they didn't believe me. _Oh well. I'll deal with it later. _I shrugged and went to change out of my pajamas.

I went into the bathroom and, being that I was in a cheery mood and we still had a few hours until the task started, I got myself gussied up a bit. I brushed my hair out carefully, the natural waviness looking nice for once. I pinned it all over to one side, and did my makeup. When I walked out of the bathroom and back into the dorm, Hermione and Ginny looked even more shocked than before. They still had nothing to say, though, so I spoke. "I'm hungry. I'm going to go find Fred and go down to breakfast. I'll see you guys in a little while." They both nodded and I walked out the door.

(See Vi's outfit here .com/third_task/set?id=39547136)

As soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs, I felt a warm, calloused, yet still comforting, hand close around mine. I smiled and looked up into the soft eyes of my boyfri- fiancé.

"Hey you," he said, grinning down at me and cause the skin around his eyes to crinkle from smiling all the time. It was so cute!

"Hey," I replied, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss him, my hands resting on his chest.

"Oi, you two! Get a room!" George said as he and Lee came over and stood next to us after we had been kissing for a minute or two. Fred and I both, reluctantly, stepped back and looked over at the other two, both of us blushing a little.

"You want to go to breakfast, Love?" Fred asked me; I nodded vigorously. I was really hungry.

We got down to the Great Hall, I noticed two things. One, that all conversation was on the final task. To be honest, I hadn't really thought too much about it. I had assumed that everything would go fine and, no matter who won, everyone would come out of the stands exactly the same as before. This caused me to get a little nervous.

The second thing that I noticed was rather surprising: Draco Malfoy was staring at me, but not in the usual way. He was giving me a look of disgust; this look didn't improve when I glanced back at him. He sort of looked as though he was going to be sick.

"Vi? What are you staring at?" My head snapped back, looking at Fred. I hadn't noticed that my head was turning back around to look at Malfoy as we were making our way toward our seats.

I looked back at him, trying to smile as we sat down, and said, "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about that whole thing with Malfoy and Johnson." At this, Fred grinned and we both burst out laughing. Nothing had become of the Draco/ Angelina thing that I had witnessed, and with Fred being the only person I told, our friends gave us questioning looks, but decided it best not to take the conversation any further.

We sat down and began to eat, but I could still feel a pair of eyes burning into the back of my head. I shifted uncomfortably, which, of course, Fred noticed.

"Are you sure you're okay, Love?" Fred asked, turning away from his bacon and holding my face up to meet his eyes, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"I'm fine. Really," I smiled again, doing my best to cover up how seriously uncomfortable that I felt at that moment. To be honest, I wasn't sure if the look I was getting from Malfoy was better than when he would undress me with his eyes. Fred let the subject drop- thank Merlin- and I turned fully around and did my best to ignore the feeling that I was being watched.

After breakfast, Fred and I decided to go for a walk being that we still had about three hours until the task was to begin. We were nearing the tree that he had asked me to marry him at; we both smiled.

"That's our spot," I said, pointing at the tree with the hand that wasn't entwined with his. He smiled and stopped us right in front of it. I looked at him curiously, but smiled when I saw that he was pulling a small knife out of his pocket.

"Are you sure you're allowed to have that in school?" I asked, pulling my eyebrows together. He stopped when his hand was a couple of inches from the bark and gave me a look; a look that clearly said "Are you serious?" I laughed quietly and said, "Sorry. Forgot who I was talking to for a minute." He grinned, kissed me, and continued what he was doing. It didn't take me long, though, to think of something else to say.

"You know, I'm sure there's a spell that you could use to get this to go a lot faster."

Fred gave me a very serious look when he said, "I want this to be you and me. I don't need magic. I just need you." I could feel my eyes starting to brim with tears, but I smiled and nodded. He grinned back and continued his handiwork.

Half an hour later, we were staring at the tree. Engraved in the bark, it read,

"V. K. E. A. = F. G. W. = Love"

I smiled. "You are amazing," looking in awe at the somehow neat, cursive inscription that Fred had made in the bark. I knew that if I had even tried, without magic that is, that it would look like crap.

"I know," Fred replied. I stuck my tongue out at him, but pecked him on the cheek anyway, making the grin that was already on his face grow even bigger.

We were sitting in the stands, me being in between Fred and Mrs. Weasley, waiting for the final task to begin. The Hogwarts Band was playing a really cheery tune that Professor Flitwick was conducting. It was almost annoyingly cheery, actually. Even more annoying than that, though, was the cheer that the Beauxbaton girls were doing… Still, we were all really excited for Harry, just very nervous. I would say that Hermione and I were the most worried. My worry had greatly increased once we got

"He'll be fine, Love," Fred told me over and over, rubbing my back or kissing my hair as he did so. I would always nod, but you could tell by the fact that I was constantly tapping my foot, that I was nervous. After a while, Mrs. Weasley noticed that her son was comforting me, and started smiling and staring at us. It was a little awkward, but what could I do?

Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, the champions started to come out of their tents for the big event. Dumbledore and Harry walked out together. I could tell that Harry was nervous, but then again so was everyone else. I simply took deep breaths and waited along with everyone else. After about a minute of letting people cheer, Dumbledore put his wand to his throat, and began to speak.

"Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now, as Mr. Diggory-" Lots of Hogwarts students stood up and cheered. I clapped, because it was the polite thing to do. Mr. Diggory actually lifted Cedric's hand up to show off even more. Cedric looked really embarrassed by that. I kind of felt bad for him after that. "- and Mr. Potter-" Our whole group stood up and cheered for Harry. A lot of other people cheered for him as well; I smiled. "- are tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze, followed by Mr. Krum-" Mainly Slytherines and Durmstrang students cheered. Karkaroff started getting people to cheer, "Krum! Krum! Krum!" much to my annoyance. "-and Ms. Delacour." More cheering. "The first person to touch the cup will be the winner!" This time, the cheers coming from the stands were deafening. I held back the instinct to plug my ears, and clapped and cheered along with everyone else. "I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter. Should, at any point, a contestant wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands." With that, Dumbledore turned back to the contestants, and I was left to, once again, panic.

_Red sparks? This is safe, right? Why would anyone need to withdraw?_ Thoughts such as those had already been running through my mind, but having Dumbledore, the only person that Voldemort had ever feared, talk about them so casually… It only reinforced my fear ten-fold.

Next thing I knew, Dumbledore was talking again. "Champions! Prepare yourselves!" Harry went over to his place by Moody, but nodded to Cedric on the way. I wasn't entirely sure what the nod meant, but I took it that Harry and Cedric had forgiven each other, so I forgave Cedric at that moment as well. I waved once to Harry, he waved back and smiled.

"On the count of three. One-" The cannon, once again, went off early, but the band played, and the champions entered the maze without a backward glance.

I wasn't even sure how long it had been. We were still sitting in the stands and my leg was tapping nonstop. Some people in our row were glaring at me, while Fred was trying to calm me down.

"He's going to be fine, Love." Fred would say.

"But what if he isn't?" I asked, turning to him, but not missing a beat with my foot tapping.

"But he will be. Just try to relax. Breathe." I did as I was told, but still continued to tap my foot. Fred rubbed my back and I calmed down a little more.

"I love you," I said, resting my forehead against his chest.

"I love you, too," he replied, tilting my face up to his and kissing my lips softly. "Now, be happy! Everything is al-" Just then, Harry came back with Cedric; he looked to be carrying him. _I hope he's not hurt_, I thought as I began to cheer along with everyone else; Fred, George, and I started making our way down the stands and into the field. The band began to play, and everything was fine, until-

A scream. A scream strong enough to make me stop mid-step, halting both Fred and George with me. I turned to my right and saw that Fleur Delacour was turned to the direction of Cedric and Harry looking terrified. I turned back in their direction and noticed something: Cedric wasn't moving. I covered my mouth and looked up at Cedric's father who was hugging Mr. Weasley; he hadn't noticed. I looked back down and Harry and Cedric; Dumbledore had joined them and was attempting to pull Harry from Cedric's body.

"No! No! No, don't!" Harry screamed as he struggled against Dumbledore, only making me cry harder. Fred tried to comfort me, though it didn't really work since he was crying as well.

The Minister of Magic then stepped in and shouted, "For God's sake, Dumbledore, what's happened?" Instead of Dumbledore, though, Harry spoke, answering our worst fears.

"He's back! He's back! Voldemort's back!" _No! That's not possible!_ "Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back to his parents. I couldn't leave him. Not there!" By this point, Harry was crying and most people had realized that something wasn't right.

"It's alright, Harry." Dumbledore said, trying to calm not only Harry, but most of the rest of us down. "It's alright. He's home. You both are."

A few seconds later, after running around trying to calm people down, the minister came back to talk to Dumbledore. "The body must be moved, Dumbledore. There are too many people."

The something truly heartbreaking happened. "Let me through. Let me through!" Mr. Diggory said as he made his way through the crowd, Mr. Weasley trailing along behind him. "Let me though! That's my _son!_ That's my _boy!" _Mr. Diggory dropped to his knees in front of Cedric and stopped. "It's my _boy!"_ , he screamed at the top of his lungs. By this point, Fred's shirt was soaked from me crying into his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, though. I couldn't tell that he was trying not to start crying as hard as I was as well. I looked up quickly and saw Cho crying. My heart broke for her. I thought about how I would feel if it were Fred instead of Cedric, causing myself to cry harder still.

"Come on. Get up. Easy, easy!"

"No!"

I quickly looked away from Cho and noticed Professor Moody trying to drag Harry away from Cedric. I felt so bad for Harry; I couldn't have imagined what he felt, but I knew that I didn't want to find out, either.

"This is not where you want to be right now," Moody told Harry calmly. "Come on," He said, pulling Harry up and dragging him away.

I felt something tug at my shirt as the pair lof them passed us, though. "You too, Ashton," Moody added.

** A/N: Hey guys! Really sorry it took so long. Having some major family stuff going on, so your patience in needed. I'm happy (yet sad) to say that I'm almost done with this story. As for my other story, I want to finish this one before going any further with "A Thousand Years". I just needed to get that one written down. Yeah. Thanks again. Comment… You know… the usual. **

**~Paige **


	22. 21 Things You See In The Graveyard

"It's all right, both of you. I got you, I got you. Come on, easy now." Professor Moody said, reassuring Harry and I as we made our way up to the castle. We made our way out of the stadium and further away from the maze,and I was thankful that Mr. Diggory's cries became fainter. It was a truly devastating thing to hear.

My mind was a blur as we walked through the castle doors and up a few flights of stairs. I was still confused about what had just happened. I was no longer crying, I was defiantly in somewhat of a shock. My eyes were swollen and red as we made our way through the doors of Moody's office. I could hear faint whimpers from Harry's direction, but they were nothing compared to the sobs coming out of him when we were back down by the maze.

Moody sat both Harry and I down in chairs, locked the door we had just come in, and pointed his wand at the fireplace, encasing the room in an amber glow, but not making me feel any warmer. I looked over at Harry, and was thankful to see that he was no longer crying. He was shaking pretty badly, but I was as well. I jumped when I looked up and noticed that Moody was now kneeling in front of Harry and I.

"Are you all right, Potter?" Moody asked Harry. Harry nodded stiffly; I could tell that he was lying. Still, Moody ignored this, and turned to me. "How are you doing, Ashton?" Moody asked, eying me strangely. I couldn't put my finger on the look he was giving me, but I didn't like it. I shrugged, trying to tell as much of the truth as possible. Moody nodded, turning to Harry once more.

"Does it hurt? That?" Moody asked, pointing to a large cut on Harry's arm. I hadn't noticed it, but it looked really painful and, in all honesty, quite disgusting.

"Not so much now," Harry replied after gaping Mad-Eye for about five seconds. I could tell that Harry was seeing what I was; something wasn't right with the professor. I just couldn't think of what could make him give me the look, or ask us how we were feeling. He had never shown so much concern before.

"Perhaps I'd better take a look at it," Moody added, grabbing Harry by the arm and touching the cut. As he was doing this, Harry spoke up.

"The cup was a Portkey," I could see Harry wince as Moody examined his arm; I was cringing a little just watching it. "Someone had bewitched it."

All of a sudden, everything got quiet and intense... Well, even more so than it was before that. There was a lot of tension in the room, but I was still confused as to why.

Out of nowhere, Professor Moody whispered, "What was it like? What was he like?" He said this in a normal voice, but with a tone of... excitement?

After a few seconds, things got a little too uncomfortably quiet for my liking, so I decided to be the one to ask the question that I knew both Harry and I were wondering. "Who?"

"The Dark Lord," replied Moody, sounding even more frustrated than before. He swiped at Harry's arm, causing Harry to gasp in pain, and got up from his chair. Even so, he continued to speak. "What was it like to stand in his presence?" He was completely turned away from us at this point, so I couldn't see his face. I was very thankful that this was the case; I had a feeling that I wouldn't have wanted to see it.

I could tell that Harry was somewhat shocked that Moody was having this conversation with him, as was I (especially with another person still being in the room), but, still, he answered. "I don't know." Harry paused, because Moody began making strange choking sounds as if he were in pain. His body was convulsing slightly, but I was too afraid to see if he needed any help. Normally, I would have helped no matter how I felt, but that time, it was him that I was afraid of. More than I had ever been before. "It was like I'd fallen into one of my dreams... Into one of my nightmares." I could definitely tell now that something was wrong with the professor, but I still didn't dare move. He grabbed the flask that he always kept hooked to his belt buckle, but nothing appeared to be coming out. He gasped, shuddered, and went into his personal room connected to his office. I could here bottles clanking and knew that he was looking for something more to drink... Perhaps a potion?

Going slightly back to his normal self, always being persistent, Moody continued to question Harry. "Were there others? In the graveyard, were there others?" Moody growled.

I looked over at Harry and his expression confirmed my suspicions: he had never said anything about a graveyard, and that was exactly what he told Moody.

As if in slow motion, Moody came back into the room with us. After he walked fully into the room however, things began to happen pretty quickly. "Marvelous creatures, dragons, aren't they." Moody said, seeming to snarl as he did so. "Did you think that miserable oaf would have led you into the woods if I hadn't suggested it?" Both Harry and I shifted uncomfortably as the professor continued to speak; absolutely no doubt that something was wrong now. Moody continued to fumble through some bottles as he went on speaking. "Did you think that Cedric Diggory would've told you to open the egg underwater if I hadn't told him first myself?" I would have been more angry about the whole situation had it not been for the fact that I was trying to figure out if what he said had been saying made any sense. Which it did. "Did you think Neville Longbottom, the witless wonder, could have provided you with gillyweed if I hadn't given him the book that led him straight to it? Huh?" But this point I was really starting to panic. Mood was shaking, though I couldn't tell if it was from the fact that he was so angry, or if he was still affected by not having whatever was in his flask. Either way, I knew one thing for sure; I needed to get out of there. I couldn't though; I felt as if I were glued to my chair out of fear. I looked over at Harry, and he looked like he wanted to run out of the room too; at least I wasn't the only one. I looked back to Mad-Eye once more and saw that he was flicking his tongue out of his mouth; it was quite disturbing... Harry was giving him a strange look, but I couldn't understand why. Then, a look I knew flashed across Harry's face. He knew what was going on.

"It was you from the beginning," Harry stated. "You put my name in the Goblet of Fire." My jaw dropped as this was said. I had somewhat expected it after Moody's little speech, but hearing that someone else agreed with me made it even more official. "You were bewitching Krum, but you-"

"But- but- but." Moody said in a baby voice, cutting Harry off. "You won because I made it so, Potter. You ended up in the graveyard tonight because it was meant to be so. And now the deed is done." As this was being said, Mad-Eye had paced back toward us and viciously grabbed Harry by the arm. I noticed that something strange was happening to Moody's face; as if his face were morphing. Had he taken Polyjuice Potion? I really wanted to voice what I thought, but I didn't think that it was a good time; it would have just made the situation worse. "The blood that runs through these veins runs with the Dark Lord. Imagine how he will reward me when he learns that I have, once and for all, silenced the great Harry Potter."

Mad-Eye began to raise his wand at Harry, but was cut off as he opened his mouth, ready to shout out a curse, by a voice coming from outside the door. "Expelliarmus!" it called; I immediately knew that it was Dumbledore. The door swung open in the same second, and Dumbledore came sprinting into the room, both McGonagall and Snape right behind him. Moody hit his desk chair as the spell hit him, and flew into the wall behind him. Dumbledore ran up to Moody, putting his wand to his throat and shouted, "Severus!" with his arm extended out to Snape. Snape gave Dumbledore a vile filled to the brim with a clear liquid, which Dumbledore poured down Moody's throat. "That's it, take it," Dumbledore coaxed Mad-Eye as he slowly swallowed the concoction. After about three seconds, Dumbledore began interrogating Moody with questions. "Do you know who I am?" He shouted, pulling Moody closer to him by grabbing his collar.

"Albus Dumbledore," Moody replied in a growl. Vertiserum... He's given him Vertiserum.

Dumbledore only seemed to get more angry as he continued. Honestly, I was getting a little scared of Dumbledore now as well. "Are you Alastor Moody! Are you?"

"No." Moody said, the snarl in his voice becoming more and more significant.

"Is he in this room? Is he in this room?" Dumbledore continued, jabbing his wand more thoroughly into Mad-Eye's neck.

Everyone in the room was silent, waiting for Mad-Eye to answer. After about five seconds of complete silence, Mad-Eye looked over at a large wooden chest that was sitting in the corner. A look of realization swept across Dumbledore's face as he examined the large mahogany box as well. Dumbledore told Harry to get away from the chest (he had run to the corner when the other professors had stormed into the room) as he, McGonagall, and Snape ran at it. I followed slowly, my knees buckling and little; I was shaking horribly from fear.

When I was a few steps away still, Snape cast a spell at the chest, unlocking it. By the time I was up to the chest with everyone else, the other four were peering into it, down to the bottom; I did the same. There were seven different compartments and about fifty feet below, at the bottom of one of them, sat a man. Alastor Moody to be exact. The real Alastor Moody.

"You all right, Alastor?" Dumbledore called down to the slumped over and broken-looking form at the bottom of the chest.

Moody looked Io at us and, coughing, replied, "I'm sorry, Albus." I was suddenly filled with a wave of pity. I felt horrible for this man. Had he been down there all year?

I was still a little confused, so, in a shaky voice, I asked, "That's Moody, but who's-"

I was cut off by a choking noise behind me. I turned around to see a very frightening sight. Moody's face was bubbling as if he were boiling. He was beginning to change form. "Polyjuice Potion," Snape confirmed, sniffing Moody's flask.

"Now we know who's been stealing from your stores, Severus." Dumbledore said quietly. Then louder he added, "We'll get you up in a minute!"

Everyone then turned back to Moody who was shaking violently, and making choking and gasping sounds. His features changed in a very grotesque process. It was one of the most frightening things I've ever seen, but I couldn't seem to turn away. Moody's mad eye fell out of the impostors head and I could no longer hold back a scream. When all was said and done, the man in front of us was someone I'd never seen. Everyone else seemed to recognize him, including Harry.

"Barty Crouch Junior," Harry breathed, wide-eyed.

"Harry Potter..." He replied. "and Violet Ashton," he added, directing his attention at me. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"H-how do you know my name?" I managed to whisper once I had gained enough composure.

"Why, my dear Violet. I created you." Crouch said, flicking his tongue again.

"W-what?" I gasped.

Crouch nodded, looking slightly sympathetic. "I know. Believe me, I know how you feel. I didn't ask to be your father. That's why I'm going to end you,"

There was a flash of green, and everything went black.

A/N: Que the dramatic music! Haha! Hope you liked it. Hoping to have a new chapter up by next week... so busy. Hopefully winter break will give me sometime to write. I also wanted to give a GINORMOUS thank you to everyone who has read this. I have over 1,000 readers on Quizazz alone, and I'm SOOOO happy for that! Love you, and continue to read. After this story is done, I'll be writing more for my Remus story, then starting the sequel. I already have some ideas for it... Hope you're ready!


	23. 22 What Did I Miss?

Fred's POV

Just go to sleep, Fred," I heard George groan from his place underneath his blankets as I was pacing in between our beds.

"Yeah, Mate. She'll be fine," Lee chided in, his pillow over his head. I groaned in frustration. Vi had been missing for nearly three hours. The students still at the stadium had been dismissed about an hour and a half after Cedric- after everything... happened. I had thought that Vi would be waiting in the common room for us, so that she could tell us what Mad-Eye had wanted with her, but she was nowhere to be found. I had even made Hermione and Ginny go up to their dorm to see if she was up there, but she wasn't. I had almost asked Ron if he knew where Harry's invisibility cloak was, but I made the mistake of telling George my idea, and he wouldn't let me do it. They told me that it wouldn't do any good to get into trouble at a time like this, when Vi would end up being perfectly fine. I didn't argue that she wouldn't be fine; I didn't want to consider that an option. Reluctantly, I went up to my room with George and Lee. Then, there I was, pacing the room in worse condition than ever.

After about five more minutes of waiting, staring at me from under his blankets, George gave up, yawning in defeat. "Well, I'm going to bed," he stated, rolling over onto his side.

I ignored him, but Lee replied with a, "Me too,". He rolled over onto his side as well, and in about a minute, both were snoring loudly. I sighed, running my hand through my hair. I knew that they cared, but they didn't understand what Vi and I had been through already. I just needed to find out what had happened to her.

That was when it occurred me what it was that I needed. Something that had never failed me before in times such as that (not that there were many times like that, but still).

The Marauder's Map.

There was only one problem. Harry was also missing and I had no idea where he kept it. Maybe Ron knows... With that, I ran out of the room not caring whether I woke up George or Lee as I slammed the door. I needed to find Vi no matter how hard it would be.

I ran to a door that was two down from ours. There was a small gold plaque on it that read, Fourth Year Boys Dormitories. I opened the it quickly, slamming it shut to see that everyone but Ron, who had fallen out of bed when the door slammed, was asleep. Normally, I would have laughed at his predicament, but at the moment I was too worried to laugh about anything.

"Fred?" Ron asked, wrapped up in his blankets and still on the ground, staring at me in shock. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" I gave him the "Are-You-Kidding-Me?" look, and he nodded. "Um, sorry. What is it you want, Fred?" he asked, blinking to help keep himself awake.

"Do you know where the Marauder's Map is?" I asked, cutting straight to the chase. "I need to find Vi. Now." I added, even though I had a feeling he knew what I wanted it for.

Ron nodded, getting up straight away. He was worried about Harry almost as much as I was worried about Vi.. I could tell. He went over to Harry's trunk, pulling out the faded and yellowing piece of parchment from its place in between two pairs of dress pants. He walked over to me quickly, handing it to me no questions asked. The only thing he said as I began to walk out the door was, "Be careful." I turned around quickly, nodded, and sprinted out of the portrait hole.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." This was a lie, I was up to a lot of good, but I said it anyway and the brown ink started to spread across the map. I felt more relief than I had since the moment that Vi went with Moody.

I was about halfway to the hallway that led to the Great Hall, when I realized that I had no idea where I was going. I don't know how I had possibly forgotten that the map would tell me where she was. I had only planned on using it to keep away from Filch and anyone else I may have met in the midst of the chaos. I pulled it closer to my face, my illuminated wand in the hand that wasn't holding the map, searching anywhere and everywhere, until my eyes came along the most familiar name in the world to me. I didn't like where that name was placed.

Violet Ashton was in the hospital wing.

Vi's POV

I was numb. Numb and scared. Scared mainly, because I had no idea where I was and I couldn't see a thing. I couldn't speak... I was sort of glad that I couldn't feel, because I was afraid that I would be in pain if I could.

I could hear though, and I was very glad for that. I didn't hear much. The only sound was a quiet, but disturbed, breathing. It made me sad, although I wasn't entirely sure where it was coming from or even if it was real.

My brain, however, was not turned off. A lot of different thoughts were zooming through my head. Where am I? How did I get here? Where are my friends?

Where is Fred?

I don't know how long I was actually thinking. I suppose that it could have been anywhere from a couple of minutes to a few hours. All I knew was that eventually, I began to feel again. It started as a tingling; it felt like my hand fell asleep or something. Soon though, my hand felt like it was burning and I just wanted to scream. I couldn't. I felt tears to start to well up in my eyes, making them slightly easier to open. I slowly pried my eyelids apart, wincing a little because the room was so bright. The wince quickly turned into a smile, however, when I noticed where the quiet breathing had been coming here. Fred was sitting in a chair next to my bed (Am I in the hospital wing?) sleeping. I didn't want to wake him, but I felt like I needed to so that he knew that I was okay. I didn't exactly know how long I'd been...out or whatever it was that I'd been.

I didn't know how to wake him up. I couldn't move very well, but I tried to anyway. I winced a little, but help in the scream that wanted to come out; I didn't want to scare Fred. The only other thing I could think of was to call him, so that was what I did.

"Fred?" I asked, surprised that I could talk again. This caused Fred to grab my hand; even with his eyes still closed, he knew where I was... Is he dreaming about me?"Fred." I said a tad louder, rubbing his hand as I did so; he squeezed my hand in response. I smiled a little, but then did the thing that I had really wanted to avoid. "Fredrick!" I shouted, and he finally jolted awake, jumping to his feet as he did so. I tried not to laugh, but failed; the expression on his face was priceless.

"Vi?" he asked, looking over at me, his face going from shocked to pleased, but quickly to a mix of both shock, happiness, and confusion. "Am I... am I dreaming?" He asked, smiling down at me; I could tell that he was being completely serious.

I smiled up at him and, starting to sit up, said, "Of course not, Fred. I'm really here-" Just then, a sharp pain when through my stomach and I cried out. I'd never been stabbed, but I'd imagined that that would be what it would feel like if I had.

"Vi!" Fred shouted, finally realizing that he wasn't dreaming. He walked up to the front of my bed and gently laid me back down, smoothing my hair back. "Are you okay? Just lay down!" he Pomfrey came bustling into the room at that moment, slamming her office door as she did so. When she saw me, she looked quite shocked, but grinned just the same.

"Why, Ms. Ashton! I'm so glad to see that you're awake! When did you wake up. I didn't hear you make a sound." She turned to Fred, giving him a slightly disapproving look. "Why didn't you tell me that she was awake?" she asked him. I, however, was the one to answer all of her questions.

"I don't know when I woke up. It wasn't too long ago," I answered honestly. "Fred was asleep when I did. I woke him up, actually," I answered, smiling over at my amazing boyfriend. He still looked concerned about what had happened before Madam Pomfrey had entered the room, but returned my smile just the same. He squeezed my hand again, and I looked down at the sheets that were wrapped around me and blushed. He's too sweet for his own good.

"I thought that maybe he would be. He's been so good to you. I don't think he's left the room except to change his clothes and go to classes. Even getting him to do that was a challenge" I smiled at this, looking over at Fred who had a slight blush forming on his cheeks. "Plus, he's cute." she added as an after thought. after that was said, Fred's face was as Red as his hair, and I was trying to hold in a laugh. I didn't want to hurt Madam Pomfrey's feelings; she had seemed completely serious when she had spoken. "It's so refreshing to see two young people who genuinely care about each other. You don't see that very often nowadays... Anyway, let me know if you need anything, Ms. Ashton. I'm very happy that you're awake." She gave me one more smile before she started walking back to her office. Fred, however stopped her.

"Actually Madam Pomfrey, could you please get Vi a pain killing potion. Her scream was probably the reason that you came out of your office," Fred said, that strong look of concern once again taking over his features. She nodded, walking back into her office to get me something that, I'd hoped, would relieve my pain. She turned around quickly and added, "Should I give you two a couple of minutes?" Fred nodded; they both had sad looks on their faces now, and I was thoroughly confused.

As soon as Madam Pomfrey shut the door to her office, Fred's lips were on mine. It felt so nice to feel this again. I'd missed it, though I still didn't know how long I'd missed it. As much as I didn't want to, I broke the kiss to ask Fred the question the question that I knew needed to be asked.

"How long was I asleep, Fred?" I asked, my arms wrapped around his strong shoulders. I bit my lip, hearing Fred sigh after the question was already out in the open. He didn't want to answer it as much as I didn't want to ask it.

"A week." He whispered. I had to physically stop myself from freaking out. It doesn't seem like such a long time now, but back then it felt like forever. What I did do though, was hold Fred tighter to me than ever before. No matter how much it had hurt me at times, I had never gone more than a day without seeing Fred except for maybe during the summer at some points.

"Oh," I whispered after a few seconds of just holding him, because I really didn't know how to respond to that. "Barty Crouch Junior is my father," I stated. I wasn't sure why I said it, I just felt like I needed to get it off of my chest. I thought that maybe I felt guilty for having such a horrible person for a father. Well, he wasn't really my father. That would always be Sirius. Just knowing that Barty Crouch Junior, the man who had almost tried to kill Harry, was biologically related to me disgusted me.

All Fred did was nod and say, "I know." I was so happy that he didn't seem to be disgusted, so I hugged him as tight to me as was possible without either one of us suffocating. I sighed, and it was bittersweet. It felt so good to feel Fred next to me... holding me and still wanting me. On the other hand, I knew that I still had a question for him, and if I didn't ask him, I would regret it.

"What else did I miss, Fred?" I asked, and it was barely a whisper. I felt Fred tense up. I looked up into his eyes, seeing nothing but sadness and love for me. I touched his cheek gently and whispered again. "Please tell me, Fred. I have to know," I stated, although I was scared to death to know the truth.

I felt Fred squeeze my arms lightly before answering. "I really don't know how to say this, Vi, but... Merlin, this is hard..." He took a deep breath before finishing. "Vi, um, y-you're mum is gone."

"Gone where?" I asked, already feeling tears prick my eyes, thinking I knew the answer. Fred sighed, tears starting to come out of his eyes now.

"She's dead, Vi," he said, his voice cracking on the word 'dead'. Dead? No!

"That's not possible," I replied, shaking my head, trying to loosen myself; I wanted to freak out. I wanted to hurt something and throw things. All of my anger for Angelina, Draco, Mum being sick... all of it was threatening to explode out of me. Fred simply pulled me down- he had always been a lot stronger than me, though I was putting up a pretty good fight.- and into his arms where I soaked his shirt through with my tears; I had never cried so much in my life.

After about five minutes of just sitting there gently cradled his Fred's arms so that I wouldn't get hurt, I said, "It should have been me. he should have come after me." Fred looked directly into my eyes before replying.

"He did," he said, tears puring out of his eyes now.

What?

A/N: Thanks for all the support! You guys are awesome~! The story only has a few chapter left. :(


	24. 23 Days of Summer

"All right, Ms. Ashton. You're free to go, but if you feel lightheaded or nauseous at all before you leave, you need to come straight back to me. I don't care whether or not it's the last day of the school year. If you're sick, you're staying," Madam Pomfrey instructed as she put her wand back in the pocket of her pale blue apron, giving me a stern look. Even with the look she'd given me, I could tell that she really did care about my safety. She had shown that the whole week that I had been awake. When Fred and the rest of my friends were busy with their exams, she had been the only one there to take care of me. She had even fed me a couple of times, and as embarrassing as that is, it really did mean a lot to me.

"I will, Madam Pomfrey... And thank you. For everything. I'll see you next year... Hopefully just in the corridors or something though." I saw Fred crack a small smile as he helped me up from the mattress I'd been sitting on while I had my final check-up. He put an arm around my waist, and I did the same to him so that I was less likely to fall. I still didn't have all of my strength back at that point. I gave Madam Pomfrey a quick hug before Fred and I left the room. We only had about forty five minutes before the Hogwarts Express left for Kings Cross.

Our trunks were, thankfully, already down by the train, so since we didn't have to go get those, Fred and I walked together at a somewhat leisurely pace. I leaned my head against his shoulder and it was really nice just being there with him. Neither of us talked; there really was nothing to say. I was just happy to feel at least somewhat contented after being completely miserable for a week. Only Fred really had the ability to make me feel that way, and he really didn't have to give much of an effort. I must have had some kind of look on my face, because after we were about halfway down the corridor that led to the main exit, Fred spoke.

"What are you thinking about, Love?" He whispered, looking down at me through those soft, dark green eyes. It took me a minute to answer, because I wanted to be completely honest with him, and that is exactly what my answer was.

"I guess I'm thinking that this is just the way it's going to be. Days upon days of complete chaos- whether it be good or bad- then just a day where you don't have to think. Everything's just natural. Like right now, for example. These are my favorite days. We can't stop what's coming... it has to happen. All we can do is fight against it. I'm not sure if that really makes sense... It sounded good in my head." By then, I was completely rambling and Fred, being the wonderful person that he is, did nothing to stop me.

"It makes complete sense," He replied, stopping us in the middle of the hall and pulling me to him. "I'm always going to fight for what I love; you. I'm never gonna leave you, Vi. I love you and, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me." he said, smiling down at me and kissing me softly on the lips. He brought the arm that wasn't already supporting my waist down to rest on my arm. I stood on his tiptoes -which was a lot easier since Fred was supporting most of my weight- and carefully wrapped my arms gently around his neck, deepening the kiss slightly. I'm not exactly sure how long we stood there, but, we were full on snogging when we heard someone cough behind us, effectively causing us to jump apart. When I turned around, I felt my cheeks automatically flush a bright red, skipping a pink tint completely.

There standing in front of us was none other than Professor Dumbledore.

"H-hullo, Sir." I staring down at my now interlocked hands, not able to the the headmaster in the eye. At the time, it was one of the most embarrassing things that could have happened.

"Good morning, Ms. Ashton, Mr. Weasley." the headmaster started, nodding to Fred and I. "I was hoping to talk to the two of you for a moment," he said, a look of slight amusement on his face.

"Of course, Sir," I replied automatically. In truth, I really didn't want to talk. I'd had a feeling that he would want to discuss the things that I had been trying to avoid for and entire week. But, honestly, what else could I say? I couldn't have very easily told him no.

Dumbledore smiled and started walking, motioning us to follow him, which we did."We won't go all the way to my office seeing as the two of you still need to catch the train home. I asked Professor McGonagall if I may use her office for a bit to talk to the two of you. She said yes, of course, but I think,Violet, that she did so because you are one of her favorite students." I nodded, smiling a little, but still took a deep, shaky breath, guessing at what was in store. Suddenly, I felt Fred's warm hand find its way to mine, rubbing gentle circles onto my palm with his thumb. I did my best to give a small smile up at him, assuring him that I was fine, but failed miserably.

"Ah, here we are," Dumbledore exclaimed, talking me out of my thoughts. We followed him into the small room; I was trying to look as calm as possible. "Have a seat, both of you," he said, gesturing to the two chairs opposite the one that he had begun to sink into. Fred and I both hurriedly sat down, scraping the chairs quietly against the stone floor as we did. I looked between Dumbledore and Fred once I was in the chair, both of whom were giving me sympathetic looks. It was making me slightly uncomfortable. Seeming to sense this, Dumbledore straightened up, cleared his throat, and began to speak in a soft voice.

"Violet, I'm so sorry..." It was quiet for a minute after that and I could feel tears come to my eyes. I refused, however, to let them spill over; I had promised myself that I wouldn't cry. "I'm sure that you have a lot of questions. Some of them can be answered now, but I can't tell you everything...for your own safety, of course. I do promise, however, that whatever you ask me, I'll answer truthfully or not at all." I nodded, feeling a little braver with Fred beside me, rubbing my hand softly under the desk. After about a minute of sitting in silence, I took a shaky breath, and began to speak.

"W-who did this?" I asked, my voice coming out in barely a whisper. "Who killed her?"

There was only a very short pause, then Dumbledore spoke only a little louder than I had. "Your father."

I nodded, already knowing the answer. I'd just wanted it confirmed. I felt a single tear slide down my face, and wiped it off furiously with the hand that wasn't holding Fred's.

"Violet, it's all right to cry... I myself have found that it is sometimes more healing than it is destructive," Dumbledore said, with a kind look of... encouragement? No matter his tone, as soon as the words were out, I lost it.

I just sat there letting my emotions out. I let Fred hug me... I even let him whisper things to me like, "I know, Love... You'll get though this... We're all here for you. You know that, right?"... These were all things I hadn't let anyone, including myself do since I'd woken up. To be completely honest, it was nice. Maybe even healing. After about five minutes though, we all seemed to remember that we were on a schedule, so I asked the next thing that was on the short list of things that I _did_ want to know.

"Sir... Is Barty Crouch really my father? Is he the one who did this?" I asked, quietly, finally looking Dumbledore in the eyes. The look he gave me made me know that he was, once again, going to tell me the truth, and that scared me more than it probably should have.

"Yes," he answered softly. I nodded, and with that in mind, I asked my third question.

"What happened to him? What did the Ministry do to him?" I asked, not letting my eyes falter from the headmaster's. I needed to know for sure, not that I'd ever really doubted, that I was being told the truth.

"The Minister ordered the Dementor's Kiss." To be honest, I wasn't sure whether to be happy, or sad, or mad, or how I should feel. On one hand, it was great. He was dangerous and I was almost positive that he had been out to kill the ones that I loved. On the other hand, he was my father and, despite how horrible he was, he was the only one I had I was just mad about the fact that he was my father... It wasn't such a problem that he was dead... More-so that he'd had a biological connection to me to begin with. When I was younger and I pictured my father, he was not the insane man that had stood before me the night of the final task. He was someone more like Sirius... Brave, kind, funny... It was someone who would've wanted to be there for me. Honestly, in the very back of my mind, I was kind of mad at my mum for making _this_ man my father instead. It didn't seem right, and it didn't seem fair.

I knew that I had to keep going though, because we didn't have much time, so without a pause, I asked, "Why... How am I alive?"

"Well that is a very simple answer... To be honest, I'm a little surprised that you haven't figured it out on your own," Dumbledore replied. "Your story is similar, rather surprisingly similar in fact, to your friend Harry's. Your mother gave her life for you. Her love acted as a shield when she died. It is still around you now, in fact. She is the reason your alive... Love is the reason you're here." As dramatic as it sounded, it made complete sense to me, so I nodded for him to continue. "Mr. Crouch wasn't able to kill you, because he, like Voldemort, did not know love and the power that it has on people."

"I just can't believe she's gone," I whispered, a few stray tears running down my face. This time, I didn't try to stop them.

"She isn't," he replied, looking directly into my eyes, taking my free hand gently from across the desk. "She will always be with you," he said softly. "Don't forget that... _ever._" The power and emotion in his voice was the only thing that made me truly, without a doubt, believe what he was saying. It was like he knew from experience how I felt... like he was passing on learned knowledge.

"I won't, Sir." And that was one hundred percent truth. There was no way possible that I could forget what he had said at that moment.

Dumbledore quickly glanced at a strange watch that was connected to his pocket of his silver-blue robes. His eyes widened a fraction and he stood quickly, Fred and I doing the same. "I'm afraid you two will have to be going now. I hope that the pair of you have a fantastic summer. And, Mr. Weasley? Ms. Ashton? Do try to stay out of trouble"he said, smiling.

"Yes, Sir," Fred and I said in unison, breaking out into laughter, Dumbledore soon joining in. We both waved, jogging down the halls and out the front door, headed for the train.

"Ron, you're such a cheater!" I scolded, taking a suite of cards from his hand. We (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the twins, Lee, and I) only had about an hour left to go before the train was back at Kings Cross, and were in the middle of a very intense game of Exploding Snap.

"I did not!" he shouted, blushing as red as his hair.

"That was a great comeback," I replied sarcastically, looking through the cards I'd taken from him. I made a tsking sound as I did so, shaking my head. "In that case, let's let everyone take a look, shall we?" I passed the cards to Fred, who passed them to George, who passed them to Lee, and so on. By the time the cards got back to Ron, who was trying to hide under the table so that no one would see how bad his blush was, everyone was shaking their heads, making tsking noises along with me.

"Fine, I cheated," Ron mumbled, coming back up to his spot between Harry and Hermione.

"Oh, Ronnie," I said, trying not to laugh. "All you had to do was admit that you are horrible at this game... no one would've thought less of you." Everyone cracked up... Well, everyone but Ron, whose ears were taking on a pink shade. "Aw, Ronnie, don't get mad. You know I love you," I said, leaning over to pat his head.

"I hate you," he mumbled, but the color was fading on his face, and a slight smile was reappearing on his lips. I grinned at him.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," I said, leaning my head on Fred's shoulder. He put his head on top of mine, kissing my hair as he did. Everyone nodded in agreement and we just sat there for a minute, not speaking. It was a nice, comfortable silence.

"Hey, does anyone know how much time we have until we're at the station?" Harry asked, looking around between us and his pocket. I was a little suspicious to be honest.

"Um, about fifty five minutes. Why?" Ginny replied, looking out the window so that she knew where we were at.

"Well, I just needed to talk to Fred and George for a minute," Harry said, standing up, followed by the twins, who looked extremely confused. I gave Harry a questioning look as he began to walk out of the compartment; he simply winked at me in return.

"What was all that about?" I asked as the compartment door shut behind the three and they departed further on down the train. I walked over to the compartment door, looking after them until they were out of sight. I noticed that Harry had led them into a small compartment a little closer to the middle of the train. _What is he planning?_

"I have no idea. Can we get back to the game?" Lee said, grinning a little. I couldn't help but smile back and nod. I was perfectly happy with Fred, but I must say, I thought that whoever got Lee would definitely be a lucky person.

We played the game, not as enthusiastically as before, for about another ten minutes before all three boys walked in, grins upon their faces.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked them, a look of pure amusement on my face, as Fred sat down next to me once again, his pocket jingling, kissing me cheek enthusiastically over and over again. The others (Well, the boys at least... The girls thought it was adorable) made disgusted faces, but I found everything rather... wonderful.

"We're not going to tell you," George said, a teasing look upon his face. At the time, I thought that the boy might have been trying to kill me. Everyone knows that I can't handle suspense or when people know something I don't.

"You're horrible, George" I said, crossing my arms and sticking my bottom lip out like a little kid would. He stuck his tongue out at me, and I did the same, making everyone laugh. It was a nice moment, but I really did want to know what was in the small white bag that had been partially concealed in Fred's pocket.

"I'll tell you later," Fred whispered in my ear. I smiled kissing his cheek and leaning back into him. We then continued on with our game, everyone in an even better mood than they were to begin with.

"'Mione!" I shouted at the brunette, tackling her in a hug. I had just said goodbye to all the Weasley's, not counting Fred, of course. I still had to say goodbye to Hermione and Harry before before getting to him. I was honestly trying not to think about not seeing him, any of them, for the summer as I was hugging Hermione, however. Best to save the tears...

"Don't forget to write to me," she said, once we had let go. Same old Hermione, reminding me of all the things I needed to do. Today though, I decided not to scold her or tease her about it. Instead, I smiled, before stepping back.

"I won't. I'll miss you, Hermione." She nodded looking like she might tear up a little (I imagine I'd looked the same way) and I quietly stepped over to Harry.

"Hey, Harry," I whispered.

"Hey, Vi,"

I suddenly felt the tears I'd been afraid of start to well up in my eyes. Smiling, I tried to hide them, but obviously failed, judging by the look that came across Harry's face a moment later. I couldn't hold back; I took the few steps that were keeping us apart and hugged him, all but sobbing into his shoulder. He didn't make it awkward (well, for the two of us) at all though, hugging me back automatically. I heard a shakiness in his breathing and knew that we both felt the same way. He knew what it was like to lose both parents... he knew what it was like to feel lost. We both needed each other and we knew it. I was horrified that I would change (I wasn't really sure how I would change, I just had this strange feeling.) over the summer, being away from my friends.

"Vi, you know I'll always be here for you," Harry said after we had pulled back from one another. He lightly touched the lightning scar on his forehead, and I gently moved my hair back to touch the matching mark that I had discovered on the side of my neck a few days before. I smiled sadly, nodding and so did he.

"I know. Have a good summer, Harry,"

"You too, Vi," he replied quietly, walking over to where Ron and Hermione stood, waiting for him.

A moment later, I felt a pair of strong, warm arms wrap around my waist from behind and smiled, holding them there and just being content for a moment before they turned me around and I'd have to say goodbye. Unfortunately, that moment came too soon, and I was wrapping my arms around Fred and hiding my face in his neck, breathing in his scent so as not to forget it. I didn't want to forget anything about him, and I was so afraid I was going to. It seems silly now, but I really was terrified at the time.

"What am I going to do without you for three months?" He asked me, kissing the top of my head as he did. I wrapped my arms tighter around his, willing myself to somehow disappear so that I could sneak out with him.

"I honestly don't know," I replied, my voice muffled by the collar of his shirt. "I'm gonna miss you so much, Fred," I said, the tears slowly falling from my eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Vi more than you can ever imagine... But," he pulled back from me, cupping my face in his hands, "you know we aren't really without each other. I'm always with you and you're always with me," He looked me in the eyes, and I nodded. I knew that he didn't mean physically... It was like the times that he and I were apart, and I'd smile, because I knew exactly what he'd say at a certain moment... He was always _there_.

"Oh!" He said out of nowhere, causing me to jump slightly. "Sorry, but I have to show you what's in the bag!" he whisper-shouted. I looked at him excitedly as he handed me the small, white, cloth bag. It was surprisingly heavy and jingled as I pulled open the strings that were keeping it closed. I gasped when I saw the countless number of coins lying in the bag. The most amazing part about it was that each and every coin was a galleon.

"How much money is this?" I asked, gaping up at the grinning redhead who stood proudly in front of me.

"That would be... oh, only about one _thousand_ galleons!" he shouted happily, putting major emphasis one the 'thousand'.

"Are you going to-"

"-start up the shop? Of course!," he said excitedly, answering my question.

"That's amazing! Wait... Fred, where did you get this money?" I asked raising my eyebrows at him.

"Harry gave it to George and I. He told us that he wanted us to use it for the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. We aren't going to tell mum of course... Well, not yet at least." He said, quietly. I could almost _hear_ the smile in his voice.

"What? And Harry include me in this conversation?"

"Well, I don't really think that he wanted people talking about how great he is even more than they already do, and, to be honest, Vi, you're not the best secret keeper" Fred said, whispering the last part and looking amused at my little outburst.

"Well, yes, but now he's going to have to deal with me owling him for being an amazing friend all summer until he writes back." I said, sounding very logical. Well, it at least sounded logical to me,just not so much to Fred... But instead of questioning me about it further, he just chuckled, kissing my forehead gently. I felt a grin forming on my lips, and leaned into him. We just stood there for a couple of minutes until-

"Fred!" Ron shouted, running over to us. "Mum says it's time to go. Bye, Vi." Fred nodded sadly, and Ron ran back over to his family.

"Are you going to be okay? Do you know who's picking you up?" Fred asked, pulling me forward a little so that he could give me one last quick hug.

"I have no idea, I-"

"Vi!" I turned around to see Remus Lupin, waving over at me.

"Yeah, I guess I do," I waved back at Professor Lupin, silently letting him know that I'd be with him in a moment. "I love you. Be safe, and don't have too much fun without me." I said, my smile a little sad now, but not getting any smaller.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I love you, and I'll miss you, and I'll have to see about being safe... George and I are going to have to test out the new products, you know," he joked, winking at me. I scowled a litter, but it quickly turned into a sad smile. I gave him one last peck on the lips. "Bye," he said, reluctantly letting go of me, and walking toward his family.

"Bye," I replied, waving at him and the other Weasley's who stood in the distance behind him; he waved back. When they had all turned around, walking in the other direction, I slowly made my way over to where Remus stood.

"Hey, Professor," I said once I was a few feet away from him. "Are you taking me... wherever?" I had just realized that I had no idea where I would be living or where the professor going.

"Hello, Vi. You know you can just call me Remus," he replied. I nodded, smiling politely. "Yes, I'm taking you to Grimmauld Place."

I stared blankly at him for about five seconds... _Does he really think I have a clue what he's talking about?_ "Uh, where?" I asked, dumbly.

"You'll see," he said, winking. I gave him a suspicious look to which he simply chuckled and started walking.

"Um, Remus? How are we getting to this... Griswald Place, exactly?" I asked, as we walked from the platform and into the Muggle part of the station.

"Grimmauld Place," he corrected. "Mr. Weasley ordered a Ministry car so that I can escort you there."

I nodded, seeing a Ministry car a few feet up ahead I pointed and asked, "Is that it?"

"Yes, it is. You can just sit down, I need to go talk to the driver for a moment," I nodded again, suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion go over me. It hadn't been a long day, but ever since I'd woken up, I hadn't really slept as much as I should have.

"Remus? Would it be okay if I lay down on the seat for a while? I'm really tired." Remus smiled and nodded, a look of concern on his face, but he headed toward the front of the car, leaving me be. I was very thankful for that. I slowly made my way to the back of the car, opening and shutting the door quietly. The car, as Ministry cars always were, was very spacious so I had plenty of room to get comfortable and Remus would still have plenty of room for himself as well. So, I stretched out on one of the bench seats, falling asleep almost instantly.

I remember having a dream when I was in the car... To this day, I can't recall all of it, but I remember certain parts, well, memories, but they were all out of order.. Kissing Fred for the first time in the hollow tree... Sneaking into the shop and seeing it for the first time... My mum hugging me and reading over my shoulder the day I received my Hogwarts letter... meeting the Weasley's and going to Hogwarts with the twins... It was a jumble of the high points of my life... The memories were flying across my brain faster and faster by the second when, out of nowhere, I heard Remus.

"Vi, we're here," Remus said, shaking me awake. I had a huge smile on my face when I shut the door to the car, facing the row of apartments in that were parked in front of it. That was the moment that I realized matter what happened to me, I would always have my family... friends... Fred. That was the moment I realized that my life truly was a dream.

** A/N: Cheesy ending, I know. But, honestly if you're still reading this, you must like cheesy things. Anyway, thank you guys for sticking with me. I'm so happy that I finished this. The sequel will be coming out soon, so stay tuned! :)**

**Your loving author,**

**~Paige**


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